The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 11.11.11

To end the week, a little Simple Woman's Daybook...

Outside my window...
sinking autumn sun (I love the angle of late-afternoon autumn sunlight!), mostly-bare trees. It's been a crisp but gorgeous day--perfect for this morning's outing to the Veterans' Day parade!

I am thinking...
that this quiet afternoon is an unexpected blessing--with not getting home from downtown until after 3:00, I didn't think there was any way I'd get Jude down for a nap!

I am thankful for...
the men and women who have sacrificed to give me freedoms I take for granted--for example, a friend of mine noted on Facebook today that she was thankful for "the freedom to choose how many children to have, how to have them, and what and how to teach them." Things I hadn't considered, but am glad about. I forget that others have made tremendous sacrifices so that I can live the way I do.

From the kitchen...
my house smells glorious because I have homemade granola in the dehydrator--haven't made any in ages and we LOVE that stuff. Earlier this week I did some experimental baking: Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream as well as Nutella filling and/or icing for some of them. It was a fun and delicious experiment :) Tonight and tomorrow are both just C.O.R.N., as Home-Ec 101 likes to call it (Clean Out Refrigerator Night)--we need to eat up the enchilada casserole I threw together as a way to salvage beef molé leftovers (I do not recommend that recipe, though I was proud of my improvised casserole based on a friend's idea), sloppy lentils (I do recommend that one) and/or the baked potato soup I made last night (my own combination of this new recipe and an old one of my mom's).

All day tomorrow we (okay, Steve) will be smoking a 17-pound turkey, which is currently sitting in brine in the fridge. Good times. Soon I hope to try out Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream and/or Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes. Frosting cupcakes is NOT my gift--they look rather sad and disgusting--but oh well if they taste yummy :) Ooh, just thought of one other recent new recipe--I can highly recommend Smitten Kitchen's red wine chocolate cake, after making it last Friday, and the whipped mascarpone topping is fantastic.

I am wearing...
jeans, this shirt in Tidal Teal Heather (got it last Christmas and love it--and wow I am a little link happy today!), socks. Need to go put on my slippers; my toes are cold.

I am creating...
a clean desk. I miraculously found a desk underneath the mountain of vaguely-desk-shaped clutter in our office last Friday, but I still haven't completely finished the job and dusted.

I am going...
to get off the computer and go try to tackle that kitchen as soon as I finish this blog post.

I am reading...
mostly just Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies and Baptism: Three Views. I recently finished and *adored* Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl, and also enjoyed David Halberstam's Firehouse. I've been dipping into A Long Obedience in the Same Direction and Positive Discipline for Preschoolers a few times. And in the car or while I'm alone in the house doing mindless chores, I'm listening to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I had absolutely no interest in the Harry Potter books until I read this Andrew Peterson article, and now I'm really enjoying the audiobooks (I'm about a third of the way through #2).

Bible-wise, I'm mostly still in 2 Chronicles, Proverbs, and Mark (using King's Cross as a sort of commentary).

I am hoping...
to celebrate Advent/Christmas in some really special and meaningful ways this year. More on that soon.

I am hearing...
popping noises on Elijah's monitor. I wish I knew what caused that. It's super annoying.

Around the house...
the kitchen is a disaster (see above). I've got some cleaning and decluttering to do before our friends come over on Sunday!

One of my favorite things...
Jude signing "nurse"--melt my heart! He doesn't always do it when he *wants* to nurse, except at bedtime. But often while he already is nursing, he'll sign "nurse" (we use the sign for "milk"--opening and closing your fist) and then grin at me.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
just a quiet Friday night/Saturday with my guys, playing catch-up around the house. Looking forward to having some friends over on Sunday night. Then Steve and I have a date to use a Pad Thai voucher from Living Social next week, yippee!

A picture thought I am sharing...
Elijah and me, standing on the Shelby Street pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River. Elijah is obsessed with bridges, and this was the first time we'd ever explored this one downtown. A great end to our morning/afternoon watching the Veterans' Day parade and enjoying a picnic lunch at Riverfront Park! Not sure why E looks so angry in the photo--he was thrilled to be on the big bridge. Three and four are not very photogenic ages, in my experience :)

Ten on Ten: November 2011

I found out about the Ten on Ten photo project several months ago, and NaBloPoMo is finally giving me the motivation to give it a shot (ooh, bad pun...that one's for you, Zo). Founder Rebekah Gough explains:

I started the Ten on Ten project back in January of 2008. My amazing family had just given me my very own SLR for my 28th birthday. I had given birth to my second son (sixteen months after my first) and out of desperation to combat a horrible bought of post pardum depression I longed for a project to help me find beauty even when my world was so exhausting and hard with two little ones running around. 

The project has since grown to be a fun and interactive way for bloggers from all around the globe to document a snap shot of their lives too, once a month on the tenth taking a photo an hour for ten consecutive hours. Finding much life and beauty among the ordinary things of our day! 

Tonight is Date Night In for Steve and me, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the second half of today uploaded and posted--but I thought I'd go ahead and take some time this afternoon to post my first few photos. It has been fun to keep my camera nearby all morning and pay closer attention to the beautiful ordinary all around me!

Happy Blogiversary to Me

Today marks the eighth anniversary of this blog. How is that even possible?

I created Lavender *Sparkles* back in 2003, as a college senior--probably when I was supposed to be writing a paper or studying for a test. I only knew about one friend who had a blog, but I loved reading it (he has long since stopped blogging, sadly). So I started my own on a whim. I didn't post again until nine months later, and those first few months of posting were...well, let's just say I've grown up a lot in eight years.

Anyway, here we are, and I still marvel at the idea that there actually are several of you who "read my random musings." Thanks for sticking with me through posting feasts and famines. Thanks for giving me your precious time and putting in your own two cents. Thanks for taking the time to encourage me and for saying my kids are cute. I often think of how I want my blog to be more than it is, but have not devoted the time or the discipline to making that happen. In the meantime, I'm grateful for an outlet to write when the urge does strike me, and for the readers who care about and respond to what I have to say.

I'm also taking nominations for a name change. I really don't like Lavender *Sparkles*, but as my favorite writing prof in college would tell you, I'm terrible at titles.

Photographic Evidence of the Awkwardness

T-minus 16 minutes and I don't have any drafts close enough to be able to finish them before midnight. So, for your daily laugh, I present to you...me. and Steve. in middle school--circa 1994.

I can't believe I am actually posting this...

Wow. Just...wow. I mean, what are you going to say besides, "Bless her heart." That is really a face only a mother could love.

Thank You, Lord, for contact lenses, and braces, and learning to do my hair (believe it or not this was actually GOOD hair...because this was post-growing-out-the-mullet...oh yes I did have a mullet). And thank You for giving Steve a growth spurt...

I can't just leave you with that one. OY. Here we are on our way to our senior prom: 

Unlike middle school, these were actually good times...but it's way more fun now, when Steve actually *knows* that I love him, and loves me back, and I'm not overanalyzing his every move and hyperventilating because prom is almost over and we haven't even gotten to have one single slow dance together... (I never did tell you that whole long story, did I?)

But oh, the days when those were my biggest problems :)

Multitude Monday, Take 225

"...for gratitude to work, there must be one responsible--a Giver of gifts." (N.D. Wilson, Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl)

This isn't just a "things that make me happy" list. I'm disciplining my eyes to run back up the sunbeam to the sun, to recognize the kindness and generosity and extravagant love of the Father who gives all good gifts, including...

2272. a friend's listening to the Spirit and letting Him convict me instead of pointing out what she saw
2273. the way He did, indeed, open my eyes to my sin
2274. the privilege of participating in 40 Days for Life
2275. a gorgeous day for a zoo visit
2276. crisp, sweet, juicy Cameo apples

2277. wrestling meerkats
2278. monkeys screeching, Elijah laughing hysterically
2279. Steve's help peeling, coring and slicing nearly a bushel of Mutsu apples for the freezer (to use on oatmeal pancakes)
2280. long-overdue chores finally finished
2281. eyes to see grace and a heart to celebrate it

2282. opportunities to point out to Elijah in the moment how God is providing grace
2283. Steve's commitment and loyalty to me
2284. Candy Cane Joe-Joes
2285. Elijah singing unrecognizable (made-up?) songs about Jesus
2286. desk unearthed from mountains of clutter

2287. my new once-every-two-weeks babysitter, and the hours she gave me on Friday to be productive without interruptions
2288. fabulous dinner and fun/conversation with friends
2289. Steve's early Saturday morning meetings with a friend
2290. carpooling
2291. reminders that my thoughts and plans are not God's

2292. His thwarting seeds of idolatry growing up in my heart
2293. a long-overdue catch-up phone call with an old friend
2294. the way Steve gets and loves the gospel
2295. the fact that our salvation is works-based: but based on Christ's works, not our own!
2296. a friend letting me borrow her Ergo at church when we left our carrier at home

2297. her graciousness when Jude peed all over it
2298. the humbling experience of realizing we were supposed to have cleanup duty last week but skipped out
2299. children's picture book about autumn leaves
2300. gorgeous, gorgeous weather
2301. mosquitoes finally gone

2302. the motivation that NaBloPoMo provides
2303. YOU, for stopping by here regularly to see what I have to say

My Favorite Guys

As I rest and enjoy family time today, I'll leave you with a couple of recent photos of my favorite guys:

 

Daddy and Elijah enjoying last month's trip to the pumpkin patch. That doggy hat was a library story hour freebie a couple of years ago and we've gotten SO much mileage out of it :)

Jude, moments before his first haircut. A sweet friend got rid of his baby mullet the day before he turned ONE (which I'll be posting about, with pictures, soon!).

Surfin' Saturday ~ 11.5.11

A little link love for the weekend--things I've recently bookmarked on Delicious:

Cultural Cliches ~ Femina
A little encouragement for a season in which I found myself lamenting to my husband just a few nights ago that nothing on my daily to-do list is critical/urgent...

New Studies Prove that Replacing Mom Jeans Can Result in Surgery-Free Liposuction
Hilarious and enlightening. Are you wearing Mom Jeans? Do you have the dreaded Long Butt? Check out this fashion guide complete with helpful photos!

Our New and Exalted Identity ~ Tullian Tchividjian
"If you’re a Christian, here’s the good news: Who you really are has nothing to do with you—how much you can accomplish, who you can become, your behavior (good or bad), your strengths, your weaknesses, your sordid past, your family background, your education, your looks, and so on. Your identity is firmly anchored in Christ’s accomplishment, not yours; his strength, not yours; his performance, not yours; his victory, not yours. Your identity is steadfastly established in his substitution, not your sin. As my friend Justin Buzzard recently wrote, 'The gospel doesn’t just free you from what other people think about you, it frees you from what you think about yourself.'”

Stories are Soul Food: Don't Let Your Children Hunger ~ N.D. Wilson / Desiring God
After recently reading and LOVING Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl, I'm definitely interested in reading more of N.D. Wilson's work. Here, he makes a compelling case for stories: "Christians believe that this world is so much more than a mechanical soulless machine. And yet, we tend to tell our children stories that (we hope) will only speak to their intellects. ...Kids (and adults) don’t just need the truth in their heads — they need it in their bones. They need to know what courage looks like and tastes like and smells like before they ever have to show it themselves. They need to do justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly — heroes and villains can show them why. They need to loathe the darkness and love the Light."

25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes
I've always felt intimidated by scarves. But now I'm feeling motivated to get one and try it out. Besides being super informative, this video is stunning in its creativity and execution! Watch it just to appreciate the talent even if you don't care about scarves :)

Snippets

Browsing through my drafts folder, I found a half-finished meme from a year ago. Seems like the week for randomness--why not? Sunday Snippets on a Friday night, with questions courtesy of Zoanna.

1. What is one thing you really look forward to every day?
Steve walking in the door after a day of work. I love the excitement on Elijah's face and in Elijah's voice when Daddy comes home, the way he comes running to get a hug and a kiss. I love the way Jude hears the back door open and frantically crawls toward the kitchen, or throws himself backwards if he's in the baby carrier, writhing to get out and get in Daddy's arms. And I love getting a hug and a kiss myself :)

2. What is one of your good habits?
Giving thanks. Whoever got me started on "Thankful Thursdays" a few years ago did a beautiful thing...then Ann Voskamp has kicked it up a few notches, especially with inspiring me to keep a visual homemaking journal on my kitchen counter where I scribble lists of gifts throughout each day. Would you believe I am up to 8700 since I started counting a couple of years ago?!

3. What is one of your bad habits?
Picking at and chewing my cuticles. I just can't stop, no matter how many times I've tried. And now Elijah has picked it up--URGH!

4. How does your place in the birth order affect you, positively and negatively?
I'm the classic female firstborn, bossy and opinionated :P Which is in a lot of ways negative, but has also developed qualities in me like responsibility and leadership and such.

5. What is something you really admire about your best friend?
She adores her husband and is committed to only speaking well of him to others. I remember having conversations with her before we were married about how she hated to hear other women at beauty salons and various places having these man-bashing sessions and complaining about their husbands. She vowed that she wouldn't do that--and as far as I know, through eight years of marriage, she has kept that resolution. I love the way she respects and builds up her husband!

6. Do you prefer baking or cooking?
I really like both--which is in itself a huge testimony to the grace of God. Maybe baking best, just because I have such an incurable sweet tooth :)

7. What was the most embarrassing thing you've done lately?
While I was in Ohio spending time with my mom, we stopped at a gas station one morning to grab drinks. She stayed in the car and I ran inside. When I came out, distracted, I headed straight for the nearest car. It was similar in color and style to my mom's car...but when I opened the passenger door, I was greeted by a surprised old man who said, "Wrong car!" I was mortified as I apologized and hurried around to my mom's car parked right beside it. My mom was laughing so hard she was crying.

8. What is one thing you'd like to accomplish in the next year?
Plan and execute a women's retreat for the beautiful ladies at our church. With help, of course--in fact, our planning committee is meeting tomorrow afternoon.

9. What is something you'll pay "good money" for?
A baby carrier. I don't know how any parent survives without babywearing--and a GOOD carrier makes all the difference. The one that gets the most use at our house these days (Jude is on my back daily, sometimes multiple times a day if he's particularly cranky) is the Boba.

10. What was something that made you laugh today?
Elijah, talking with Daddy in the car on the way home from hanging out with friends tonight: "Daddy, you can sleep at my house."
Steve: "No, actually you get to sleep at my house."
Elijah: "Um, actuawy, it's mines house."

Switchbacks

For the longest time, whenever I imagined the spiritual metaphor of climbing a mountain, I always pictured someone headed straight up the steep side. But it was pointed out to me a few years ago that no one ever climbs a mountain that way. I can't even climb the little hill across the street that way! Whether you're driving or hiking or however you intend to ascend, if it's steep at all, you always have to use switchbacks. Sometimes they're circles around and around the mountain, slowly rising. Othertimes it's just back and forth, back and forth, gradually up one side.

This makes me feel a little better when I think about how many times in life I have felt like I'm going in circles. I've been here before; I've learned this lesson in the past, just apparently not well enough. Here we are again, the same struggles over and over and over... But the reality is, it's not *quite* the same lesson I learned before. My elevation is a little bit higher; I'm a little bit closer to the summit--just following the switchback, coming to the same spot at a slightly higher level.

I so often feel discouraged when I think about how long I have failed in the same ways, how many times I have been defeated by the same sins. I look over the last four years of motherhood especially and feel like I haven't changed at all--my heart is still just as ugly as it was revealed to be at the very beginning of this journey.

But a few experiences just in the last few weeks have encouraged me: I *have* grown. If I take the long view, oh so much has changed. I am not the same person I was in middle school or high school. God has done SO much work in me even since college. The climb is slow and arduous, more sideways than vertical. I stumble and lose ground, yes. But I'm fighting to trust that we are indeed climbing. And the God who launched me on this journey and walks beside me has promised that we will, without a doubt, reach the top one day.

[edited repost from the archives]

On Surviving Middle School

I'm kicking off NaBloPoMo with a really different kind of post, for me...brought to you by This American Life (one of my very favorite podcasts) and my blog-friend Zoanna, who requested memoir writing this month. This week's TAL episode was "Middle School," and listening to it this morning took me right back to the nightmare that was junior high. So, I have no idea where this will end up, but here goes a little stream-of-consciousness reminiscing about my middle school years...

Sixth, seventh and eighth grades were among the worst years of my life thus far. Can I get an amen? It began with drama, drama, drama among my little group of friends (we were often referred to as the "preps"--though I never could get anyone to explain to me what that meant exactly). My BFF since second or third grade suddenly decided she really didn't like me or most of the other girls in our group anymore, so there was this huge split, with her and a couple of girls who made the cut on one side, and me and the others left bewildered, wondering what we'd done or why she found us so unbearable. OY, the drama.

Slumber parties were a big source of entertainment and drama in these years...I have vivid memories of "slam books" and fights and people getting their feelings hurt, of trying and failing to stay up all night long, of Truth or Dare and freezing each other's underwear, of scaring ourselves silly doing things we had no business doing...

Things on the girlfriends front kind of calmed down through seventh grade, as far as I can remember. Then in eighth grade I experienced a whole new level of betrayal: I'd patched things up with my BFF (it seemed we were always on-again, off-again, and it was always her who was pulling back--maybe I was smothering?), and I'd also gotten close to a new girl over the summer who was a year younger but lived in my neighborhood and played on my softball team. During volleyball season that fall--one particular bus ride home stands out in my memory--the two of them suddenly decided that *they* were best friends. And I was OUT. I never did understand what happened or why, but the pain of that loneliness went deep.

Oh, the awkwardness...the angst-y journal entries...the self-absorption...it is a wonder any of us come through junior high unscathed. Thankfully for me, high school was a MAJOR turning point. Life changed significantly for the better once I got to choose my friends more and hang out with kids in other (older) grades. Everyone kind of settled down, grew up, and spread out in high school, and though there was still plenty of awkwardness and angst, I have many happy memories of high school. (And, I'm glad to say, though my elementary and middle school BFF and I sort of drifted apart peacefully through high school, we ended up reconnecting in a really fun creative writing class during our senior year, and saying goodbye on a sweet note.)

I had a random but enlightening realization about all the junior high dating stuff just recently: It occurred to me that the two girls from my class who were always the most popular with the boys, the ones whom every guy in our class liked, the ones who hopped from "relationship" to "relationship" (because what does "we're going out" really mean when you're twelve?!) all through middle school--they are the only two girls who aren't married now, at (almost) 30. Don't get me wrong--they have both been successful and have fulfilling, even exciting lives. I'm not at all implying that they should be pitied or that they're sitting around wishing they were married. But I find it highly ironic nonetheless.

My identity throughout middle school was so wrapped up in all the boy-girl stuff. None of the boys ever liked me, except a couple whose attentions I found embarrassing or appalling (I am sure I did my share of *being* the cruel kid, so anxious to be popular and not ostracized that I was willing to do the ostracizing at times). I was frequently teased about my acne; I towered over all the pre-pubescent boys; I was too smart for my own good. So although I mostly maintained a position (if somewhat precarious) in the popular crowd, it was not a popularity with the opposite sex. My love life was a crash-and-burn disaster before it ever got off the ground. I harbored secret crushes on various boys and felt so much self-hatred, equal parts "why don't any of the boys like me?" and "it's obvious why none of the boys would ever want to go with me."

So I sit here at 29, married to the handsomest guy from our class, who is also incredibly smart and successful and awesome (and who was, incidentally, also a pretty big nerd with no love life in middle school)...and I just want shout to every boy-crazy, self-loathing, anxious junior high girl I've ever met: Your self worth does not depend on whether these stupid tween boys want to "date" you! None of this drama, none of your singleness now, has any bearing on your future happiness or your chances for love! In fact you are much better off being spared the heartache and potential life-changing snares of getting wrapped up in relationships at this stage of your life!

The junior high kids were my favorite age the two summers I was a camp counselor--I vastly preferred them to the too-cool high school girls--and I tried to tell them these things. Their boy-craziness drove *me* crazy. I don't think they really heard me.

Anyway. It's past my bedtime and I've rambled long enough about junior high. I'm not sure this will be interesting to anyone but Zo, but for lack of anything else to post tonight and a desire for sleep, there you have it :) Maybe for your enjoyment later this month, I will dig up some embarrassing photos and/or post some circa-1994 journal excerpts, a la Cringe.

NaBloPoMo 2011!

NaBloPoMo, here I am...and just in the nick of time :)

I've participated in National Blog Posting Month every year since its inception in 2006, and pulled off the challenge successfully every year but one. I haven't won a prize yet...maybe this will be my year?

I think every November 1, I offer the same cliches: my blog has been lackluster lately, this will give me a good jump start, breathe some new life into the blog, etc, etc. Let's be honest, that hasn't ever happened in any kind of sustained way; in fact, typically I find myself posting even less every December after the 30 posts in 30 days marathon wears me out. So I'm not going to make any silly promises this year. But if nothing else--here's hoping you'll get a steady diet of new content for the next few weeks.

I might be crazy--attempting this with a four-year-old and a one-year-old is going to be a lot harder than with a three-year-old and a brand-newborn--but I'm signing up to give it a shot. With any luck, you'll finally see some of the drafts that have been rolling around in my head for months. If nothing else, you'll get some new recipes and some cute photos of my kiddos :)

Here we go...who's with me?

Multitude Monday, Take 224

"I look at the world and I see beauty. I see love and loss, birth and death, joy and sorrow. I see a world where color exists, and in enormous generosity we were given eyes to see it. This is a world where bread makes a smell as it's baked, and we just happen to have noses to smell it. Color, smell, sound, taste--these are things that could have gone unnoticed; we could have been senseless in this reality, careening around like so many spattering particles. Were our noses invented first, or the smells? Our eyes, or the sights? ...We have been created as recipients. I look at the stars, at the grass, at my fat-faced children, at my fingernails, and I am oppressed by gratitude."
--N.D. Wilson, Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl

Thanking God for...

2237. wonderful trips and travels (the reason I didn't blog about my gratitude the last two Mondays)
2238. 365 days of Jude!
2239. remembrances of God's mercy and generosity on the day of Jude's birth
2240. a first haircut (bye-bye, baby mullet :)
2241. a party with family

2242. frosting in Jude's belly button
2243. wine and conversation with my brother- and sister-in-law after the kids were all in bed
2244. two days with my mom and my aunt
2245. Steve keeping the boys at his parents' to free me to go
2246. boxes of stuff from my grandmother's house--some needed, some useful, some purely sentimental

2247. World War II love letters
2248. old, old photographs
2249. family resemblances
2250. stories told and retold
2251. reminders that stuff fades, moth and rust destroy, much of what I save and value will be unimpressive and discarded by others

2252. a Treasure that no moth or rust can destroy, that will never lose its value
2253. nursing home workers
2254. family recipes scribbled on bits of scrap paper, stashed in creaky metal boxes
2255. a walk to Dietsch's with Mom
2256. my grandma's delight in her great-grandsons

2257. Steve's mad car-trunk-packing skills
2258. audiobooks
2259. Jude doing so well apart from me for two days
2260. Jude's eagerness to nurse as soon as he saw me
2261. one-liners from Elijah that leave my mom in stitches

2262. Elijah learning to be both cautious and brave
2263. having to ask forgiveness
2264. Chick-Fil-A sauce
2265. brilliant fall colors
2266. opportunities to bless others as we have been blessed

2267. electricity
2268. communion by flashlight, lunch in the hallways--adventure, memories at church yesterday!
2269. our pastors and their care for us
2270. chili verde and the celebration of a new church launched and led by our friends
2271. Steve's motivation and help in cleaning up the kitchen to start a new week with an empty sink

Multitude Monday, Take 223

Thanking God this week for...

2213. snazzy camera strap covers with lens cap pockets
2214. a freshly swept patio
2215. slippers for cold toes
2216. a video from my last chorale concert my senior year of college
2217. Elijah doing push-ups "like Daddy"

2218. Red Caboose Park--complete with a REAL caboose to climb on!
2219. friends to share it with
2220. table surrounded with chattering kids
2221. Steve taking me out for dinner just because
2222. people liking books I recommended to them

2223. a friend's husband FINALLY got transferred to work back home
2224. a cousin is pregnant!
2225. kids climbing, crawling, sliding, jumping, running, riding, laughing at the pumpkin patch
2226. the way gratitude actually seems to help defuse whining for Elijah
2227. oatmeal pancakes with cinnamon apples

2228. snuggle time on the couch
2229. time playing the piano and singing
2230. Elijah playing the piano
2231. Jude's hair all fuzzy and sticking up after sleeping in the Boba carrier
2232. seventeen new jars of strawberry-rhubarb jam

2233. being my Rock of Refuge
2234. the fact that if I will fear Him, I need not fear anyone else
2235. being FOR me
2236. His promises to give me all that I need and to complete what He has begun in me

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 10.6.11

For lack of other posts, The Simple Woman's Daybook... (Or is it better to just keep my mouth shut? Does anyone find these posts interesting or are they not really worthwhile?)

Outside my window...
Unseasonably warm. Trees are starting to turn and I thought sweater-and-flip-flops weather (my fave) was here to stay, but it was back up in the 80s today. Not complaining. Wishing the mosquitoes would die off once and for all, though.

I am thinking...
that I miss blogging. That I should have jumped in with the "31 Days" themes this month, to give myself some discipline both in keeping up this blog and in working on a writing project I want to dig into.

I am thankful for...
a new(ish) family at our church that has become dear friends of ours. The boys and I spent the morning at their house--always a blessing, for many reasons.

From the kitchen...
overflowing fruit. We recently bought grapes and apples in bulk, but I was dismayed to realize that Concord grapes aren't really good for eating out of hand--so I may try to make a grape pie, but otherwise will end up freezing most of them (some whole, for use in smoothies, and some pureed, for use in yogurt/oatmeal for the boys). I've also got several pounds of tomatoes waiting to go in the summer's last tomato pie and various other "last time" tomato recipes.

I am wearing...
jeans and a dark pink shirt in the shade that has become a new favorite color for me to wear. And flip-flops. I delay socks as long as possible in the fall :)

I am creating...
I finally made some stamped cards last Friday night for the first time in ages. I still have hopes for the prayer/parenting writing project I mentioned in July...but I haven't gotten very far.

I am going...
to refrain from naming a lofty goal here since I'm pretty sure I almost never follow through with what I say I'm going to do in these posts :/

I am reading...
Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions (so that I can hold my own when Steve goes all Columbo on me)...God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology (if I can get through it--the content is important and I want to understand it but it is SO unreadable)...and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (just because I never have, believe it or not). I recently finished and really enjoyed Playful Parenting. I also still haven't finished (but am loving) Give Them Grace. I'm thinking about reading through the Anne of Green Gables series again, which I haven't done for several years.

Bible-wise, I'm mostly in 2 Chronicles, Proverbs, and Mark (using King's Cross as a sort of commentary).

I am hoping...
to catch up on my out-of-control inbox sometime soon.

I am hearing...
Jude talking on the monitor. I don't think he ever actually fell asleep. Alas.

Around the house...
clutter everywhere. I am hopelessly behind on housework and *really* need to get the office (which I have affectionately begun referring to as "The Room of Doom") under control. Yikes.

One of my favorite things...
pumpkin spice latte. Haven't gotten one yet this fall but I can't wait. And, the moment when my sweet husband walks in the door at the end of a long day.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Steve is taking me (and the boys) out for dinner tonight, just because! Then on Saturday we're headed to a local farm/pumpkin patch/corn maze/etc. Should be a fun family outing.

A picture thought I am sharing...
to say that Jude enjoyed the chicken enchiladas and Mexican black beans I made on Saturday would be an understatement :)

Multitude Monday, Take 222

"...make me a perfume of praiseful gratitude to thee..." (The Valley of Vision)

Thanking God this week for...

2185. Joe Thorn's "Walking Through the Valley of Vision" prayer guide
2186. the humbling process of asking Elijah's forgiveness and praying with him
2187. the sound of a lawn mower
2188. Unbroken at the library's used book sale table for $1!
2189. finally joining PaperBack Swap--and getting a request immediately

2190. kneading bread dough by hand
2191. an extra vacation day we didn't realize we had
2192. the way Steve has insights and perspecives that don't occur to me
2193. Steve's appreciation for my cooking and baking
2194. pretty fabrics

2195. an abundance of clothes for my boys
2196. Elijah's awesome speech therapist and her ongoing commitment to help us
2197. His sovereignty and kindness in bringing her into our lives
2198. her candor and enthusiasm
2199. her generosity

2200. a sunny afternoon at Centennial Park
2201. hitting the children's book jackpot at McKay's, on behalf of a friend who's expecting
2202. focused time and conversation with Steve
2203. seeing the gospel in the Old Testament
2204. clean, sweet-smelling boys

2205. a first birthday party for Jude's friend Polly Jane
2206. the opportunity to buy local, eco-friendly fruit in bulk for cheap
2207. hobby night with old friends
2208. new friends here for dinner
2209. Jude waving for the first time

2210. Sunday afternoon and evening in sweatpants
2211. big pot of chili
2212. His making and keeping spectacular promises