Jane at www.spaindaily.blogspot.com started the fun idea of sharing a little piece of our corner of the world with one another each Wednesday. This week's topic is Modes of Transportation! (Please visit her blog for a list of participants.)
I grew up in a small farming community where it is not uncommon to see tractors and Amish buggies. When we lived in Franklin, TN there was a sweet little trolley you could ride. And while living in Granville, OH they gave horse drawn carriage rides down Main St. Now I live in the suburbs, surrounded mostly by SUV's and mini vans full of soccer moms and kids. :)
When the weather is warm, walking is our preferred method of transportation..
With two hungry growing boys, I seem to spend a lot of time pushing grocery carts around..
This is an interesting vehicle we saw at the skate park last weekend..
The playground offers many vehicle options for the kids, including..
For the most part, the boys and I spend our days driving from place to place in our sweet little VW Passat, which could really use a good cleaning on the inside.
My husband takes our other car (not pictured), a Ford Taurus to work and back each day. Both have been trusty and dependable vehicles!
If I could choose any car to own, it would be a Landrover. There's a dealership close by and you can test drive one over a man-made rocky hill in the parking lot! Ha, I think I might do it once just for the fun of it. :)
I look forward to seeing and reading about how the rest of you get around! Our internet has been really slooooow lately, so it might take me awhile to visit you all, but I'll get there eventually! :)
After an emotionally draining and spiritually challenging week, we thankfully had a much needed sun drenched, gorgeous, relaxing weekend!
I somehow managed to get some of my girlfriends together in one place at one time for a mommy's night out at Alladin's. As much as I love my boys and would be lost without them, every once in awhile you just need some girl time! It was so much fun just hanging out talking and laughing together. :) Aren't we adorable??
The next morning I started my day off with my new favorite breakfast.. Kashi whole wheat puffs with strawberry slices, drizzled with agave nectar.
Then we dug into the awesome surprise package we received from our friends in Australia. More about that soon!
We watched sweaty shirtless skaters scrape up their knees and elbows. E said he wants knee pads and a Star Wars skateboard. A said getting hurt doesn't look like fun and that he would rather learn how to play tennis.
I love that Caribou coffee has a kids corner with toys, books, a blackboard to draw on, and of course yummy muffins and Odwalla. After a few sips of that iced latte I was hyped up and had to walk it off. So...
We climbed on giant bronzed dancing hares..
Rolled down hills in a haphazard manner..
And studied and stood on interesting rock formations.
After that we went home sun-kissed and thirsty for more. :)
When I first starting blogging on MySpace I wrote a post about the connection I feel between this song and the Book of Revelation. To me, it speaks of being honest with ourselves, of opening our hearts up and allowing God to shine light into our darkest areas, exposing us of all sin and lies. I believe that we need to be prepared for the day when we can no longer hide behind the shadows of candle light anymore. I pray that my own children will continue through life with their eyes wide open, their hands clean, and their hearts pure.
The new Heaven and the new Earth
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." -REV 21:4
"And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun: for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever." -REV 22:5
Somethin' filled up my heart with nothin', someone told me not to cry.
But now that I'm older, my heart's colder, and I can see that it's a lie.
Children wake up, hold your mistake up, before they turn the summer into dust.
If the children don't grow up, our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up. We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms turnin' every good thing to rust.
I guess we'll just have to adjust.
With my lightnin' bolts a glowin' I can see where I am goin' to be when the reaper he reaches and touches my hand.
With my lightnin' bolts a glowin' I can see where I am goin’ With my lightnin' bolts a glowin' I can see where I am, go-go, where I am
Before I share, I know that a couple of my reader's children have their own blogs now and follow mine occasionally, so I just want to warn you that this post should only be read by adults. With that being said,
I thought I would try to go to bed early this evening to catch up on some rest after a busy weekend, but I keep re-playing the horrible accident that happened last week in my head over and over again every night as soon as I lay down and close my eyes. So, I think I just need to write about it now as a way to try to free myself of the memory..
I have never allowed our children to play outside in the yard by themselves until this past month. We live in a town house where all of the backs of the homes form a U-shape around a large green space, with a golf course at the top and a playground in the middle. My concern in the past has always been about cars and here we don't have to worry about that unless they were to wander around to the front of our house, which they know not to. I can see them outside from our sliding glass door that goes out to the back patio, so I'm usually going in and out to check on them or at least looking out the door every 5 minutes in between getting housework done. The two kids (H & M) who they were playing with that evening go to school with E and I have known their mom since I was in elementary school myself.. although our paths hadn't crossed again until recently when we discovered we were living in the same apartment community. They are moving away in just a couple weeks, so I was outside taking pictures of all 4 kids together. I went inside to talk to J and was in our house for maybe 10-15 min when I heard all the kids screaming loudly. I always have to remind them not to yell because I worry that our child-less neighbors might not care so much for the noise, so I asked J to go outside and tell them to quiet down and that it was time to come inside. But while he was getting his shoes on the screams changed into a sound I had never heard before and instantly I felt a knot form in my stomach. I looked up to see their mom running across the yard followed my her daughter. Barefooted, I quickly took off out the door after them. She reached the playground before me and because they were on the side I couldn't see, all I heard was her screaming for help. Now, let me stop here and say that when you hear another parent screaming for help.. you know that something must be severely wrong. Instantly I thought someone must have fallen and broken something or cracked open their head. I could have never imagined the image I was about to see a second later though.
Earlier in the evening H's sister M has been jumping rope on our patio. One end of the jump rope was now tied to a bar at the top of the slide, the other end was tied into a loop in a diagonal across H's chest and around my 6 year old son A's neck. They were hanging down the slide by it unable to pull themselves up. Thankfully H's arm had gotten caught above his head in the rope and although the rope was digging into his rib cage, it allowed barely an inch of space between his body and A's neck as to not cut off all of A's air completely. I know with all of my heart that God was in that tiny gap.. allowing my son to breathe. In that moment I had to force myself not to panic and suddenly a strange calmness rushed through my body.. a strength and focus came over me that I can not even explain to you. I was able to help their mom lift the weight of both boys up and then I somehow managed to un-knot the rope and get them both out. Had it not been for the physical position they were in and had there not been that tiny space between them, they would have instantly been strangled to death.
H admitted to having tied the rope and kept crying over and over again "I didn't know! I didn't know!" Afterward A explained to me that he had told his friend he didn't want to do whatever it was that got them into the situation. I had a long talk with him about how if he ever finds himself in a position again that makes him feel uncomfortable inside, he needs to leave and come tell me immediately. I still don't know how it happened. I am assuming it was innocent, that they were just playing. I can honestly not image that it was H's intention to put either of them in a dangerous position. I still don't know the full story though. All I know for sure is that God was protecting those two young boys that day and that accidents can happen in a mere second. Life is so short, you can blink and just like that it's gone in a heartbeat. Needless to say, it's going to be a very long time before I allow my little birds out of the nest again.. and when I finally do, I will be watching them like a hawk.
God has opened my eyes to so many things since that evening and given me an entirely new perspective. I praise the Lord for saving the sweet young lives of those two children that night, and will spend the rest of my life thanking Him.
I was going to try to write about what happened yesterday evening, but after sharing the story with my family and a couple close friends, I just don't think I can retell it again tonight. I need a little time still to get over the shock of it all. But I do want to share with you that I was on my knees in the kitchen praying and crying deep into the night. This morning I awoke after only a few hours of sleep to a gorgeous sunny day in the 80's! (It's been rainy and in the 40's and 50's for days now, so the sunlight in my soul was much needed!) After taking my oldest to school (and I have to admit, it was not easy letting him go), my little one and I spent the entire afternoon just basking in the beautiful warmth of it all. I don't know how to explain it exactly, but I broke last night.. and today God filled me with new hope and thankfulness for everything I have been given in life!
So, now I just wanted to share with you a few pictures from this afternoon and also a video I came across today. I don't often listen to Christian bands, to me most of them just sound like all the other pop music that's out there, with some Jesus thrown in. (Sorry, not trying to offend.. just my opinion.) I do love classic hymns, old southern gospel, chanting monks, and raw unfiltered blood sweat and tears worship though. The song in the video below speaks above and beyond the words I could ever find on my own to convey the experience I had last night and today. I actually came across this band when I was looking through my friend Heather's Facebook photo albums. Today I really felt the need to praise God throughout the entire day and truly be aware of His presence in all the things surrounding me. It's as if my senses became more alive and I could see Him in the shimmering water, the tiny blades of grass, and feel him in the cool wind. I don't know how many time I looked up today high above the trees and deep down into mud puddles, just breathing it all in. I felt I could barely get enough of Him! So often we walk through life in a trance.. numb, blind, and deaf to all the beauty and blessings we have been given. I hope this weekend you will take the time to slow down and appreciate nature and all the love surrounding you.
For those of you who left sweet words, thank you. :) Many blessing to you all..
Chill and cold and flakes of snow, ice and sleet, and frost and cold, each storm cloud and thunderbolt, lifts my mind to You. Every work and every power, every second of every hour, fall of dew in sweet rain showers, lifts my mind to you. The summer wind, fire and heat, autumn leaves and blooms of spring, ocean waves and mountain streams, lifts my mind to you.
I see you in every scene, I bet you are thinking about me, I have such a short memory so you keep reminding me of you. I see you in every scene, I bet you are thinking about me, I have such a short memory, so you keep reminding me of you.
As I lay me down to sleep, as I walk on city streets, as I laugh with friends and feast, it lifts my mind to you, as my children play and run, in the news with wars and guns, in the church where songs are sung, it lifts my mind to you. Deep inside the beggar's eyes, as for sweet love I fight, on the radio at night, it lifts my mind to you.
I see you in every scene, I bet you are thinking about me. I have such a short memory, so you keep reminding me of you. I see you in every scene, I bet you are thinking about me. I have such a short memory, so you keep reminding me of you.
I was planning to write a post this evening about the paper birds nests we had planned to make, but unfortunately a very unexpected close to death accident happened earlier this evening to my oldest son and a friend/classmate/neighbor of ours while they were outside playing. They are both okay, as we were able to make it to them just in time, but I am still pretty shaken. My heart will not stop pounding and my stomach is in knots. Obviously I forfeited our activity in place of much needed prayer and praise to God for his protection. Oh sweet Jesus, what a wake up call this night has been.
For my 100th post I am sharing a song with you that has comforted me time and time again, including tonight. Over the Rhine is an amazing band from Cincinnati that J and I finally had the pleasure of seeing live a couple years ago. :) I hope this song speaks to your heart and soul as much as it does mine.
I meant to put this photo in my breakfast post, but it accidentally got left out, so I'm adding it here. :)
These are some really good books and DVD's we got from the library that we have been reading and watching this week..
I found these "Animal Planet" coloring books for $1 and somehow restrained myself from buying the Earth badges in the next bin.
I have always had to be very careful about the cleaning products I use because I have asthma, so it's really nice that more natural products have become easier to find now. I especially love Method products that you can buy at Target.
Love love love soft organic cotton.
Yes, we've gone green..
Which turned into an impromptu photo session..
We talked about all of the things that we are thankful for that God created, including trees, birds, rain, sunshine, playing outside, love, ice cream, and.. in the middle of watching "Linnea in Monet's garden" E turned to me and said, "Mommy, I am thankful for family."
Oh, that makes a mama's heart burst with happiness!
I had a craft activity planned, but this day flew by and we didn't have a chance to do it, so hopefully tomorrow we will be making paper birds nests. :)
We also spent some time reading from Revelations in the Bible (A's favorite) and talked a lot about the New Heaven and Earth, which I also plan to blog about soon!
Last but not least, I spent a lovely evening with my new friend Heather. It was SO GOOD to get out of the house for an hour and talk to another mama over coffee! I could have stayed up half the night and am hoping to make it a weekly event. :) I had to restrain myself from taking photos, because although my kids are used to my constant documentation, I really don't want new friends thinking I'm a photo taking freak. (Which I am, of course.)
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed Earth Day in your own special unique ways! :)
Although not an official participant yet, I came across this neat idea on dongdong's blog and have enjoyed getting a small glimpse into the lives of others around the world. So, I thought I'd jump in this week and join in on the fun! We don't often go out to eat breakfast, so I thought instead I would document a typical day at home. Enjoy!
Welcome to our tiny apartment kitchen. :) We've already set the smoke detector off twice this month. Once when trying to broil something and then last week one of the burners caught on fire while boiling water. Egads!
The boys usually make their own cereal in when they first get up. We eat a lot of Kashi brand cereal and I also love Amazon flakes. The kids like theirs with soy milk, I with almond milk, and J with 1 % organic cow's milk.
After cereal we eat fruit..
And more fruit..
My dad is an organic milk specialist and spends a lot of time out on Amish farms. This past weekend he brought us back 3 cartons of eggs from a local Amish farm. It's nice to have connections. :)
I usually can't eat eggs, they make my tummy hurt and I have a slight allergy to them.. but the boys love brunch, so some afternoons I make them scrambled eggs or omlettes with toast and/or waffles and orange slices. Usually accompanied by OJ or grapefruit juice. Sometimes I also use our juicer to make carrot apple.
Brunch for myself usually includes crackers with laughing cow cheese, peppadews, and olives with almonds. Although I have found that this doesn't go well with coffee! Which is what I had this morning.. ugh.
Thanks for spending some time with us. :) Hope you all have a wonderful Earth Day! Off to school now..
I know the time will come when my littlest one is, oh I dunno.. around 6, and won't let me kiss his sweet little kitten lips anymore. So, I'm soaking up as much loving affection as I can get right now.. which is about 100 kisses a day! Last night he was laying in bed whimpering so I asked what was wrong and he told me that A had stolen his kisses. A then acted as though he was coughing up a hairball and returned them to his younger brother. He then requested that I kiss him several times to make sure his lips were working again. :)
Besides his adoration, I am also loving his funny comebacks lately. The other day I warned him that if he sneaked any more Easter candy I was going to throw it all away. He then proceeded to laugh hysterically for about 5 minutes and then said, "Mommy.. you have the funniest ideas!!" Um, I do?
He also has some sort of mind control game going on. Today we were in Target and he nearly convinced me that I should buy this pretty floral blouse. The next thing I know I'm in the dressing room trying it on and into the cart it went. Later, after getting the few things I originally went there to buy, I came to my senses and said to him, "I'm not even sure if I like this and it costs way too much." He then replied, holding it close to his face and petting it as though it were a cat, "But mommy, I loooove it on you." Okay, now I've seen kids act like this about things they want for themselves.. but not for someone else. It was completely throwing me off. Then suddenly he finds this giant straw beach hat to go with the shirt and is forcing me to try it on. After putting both the blouse and the hat back on the racks, his pouty lower lip came out and he nearly burst into tears. "You're making me buy these things that I don't even want!" I finally said in exasperation. "Because I control you." was his nonchalant reply.
I am not even kidding. That's what he said! Who does he think he is Stacy London and Clinton Kelly combined?! And no, he did not get his way in the end.. but I have to admit that I'm daydreaming now about that pretty floral blouse.
I have said over and over that whoever thinks 2 year olds are terrible has yet to experience 3! In some ways they are still that sweet gentle baby who needs affection and love and at the same time they are constantly testing boundaries. It feels like a never-ending tug of war. And yet, I am fighting the battle right along side him, within myself. Not wanting to let go of my baby, while still allowing him a healthy small doses of independence.
And then there is my six year old who will only let me kiss the dimples on his cheeks but not his lips anymore, and only before bed. It's this small thing that reminds me not to get too caught up in the tantrums and mind games of my little one, but to focus instead on those sweet kisses of his. :)
In case you were wondering what my boys were doing earlier when I was writing my confession blog.. they worked on this castle and bridge (yardstick) from the time my oldest got home from school until almost bedtime, with a couple breaks in between to eat and sword fight with daddy. :) We had these cardboard blocks when I was a kid too and they get used more than anything, but still manage to withstand being step on and knocked down over and over again. Whoever originally created these was brilliant! The first 3 photos are from today and the last was from last week. They are so proud of their work, I just had to share it with you! :)
I've started drinking coffee again. Sam's Club Organic with a splash of almond milk. When the weather forecast says it's going to rain all week, how can I not? I have to consume it in very small doses though otherwise I have an asthma attack, break out in a rash, and can't sleep for days. And while I'm at it, I should also confess that I wore flip flops all weekend. My feet are regretting it now so it's back to my Puma's. The rain is also doing wonders on my neck and back.. Today on the way to school I told the boys I could feel the weather in my bones. They must think I'm like 80 years old.
Now that I'm on a confession roll.. I also didn't make my bed today. (Even though I get on the boys everyday for not making theirs.) And I ate an organic turkey burger last night for dinner. (I couldn't help it, I'm allergic to everything and am beginning to starve. It was an act of desperation.) I also bought some steak at Whole Foods. Caffeine and meat.. oh how far I've fallen. I might need a to do a juice fast and a have a good old fashioned deliverance soon.
And speaking of little old women, see those birds on the table in the photo below? The word on the street is that I'm a collector of birds and nests, and although the gifts are lovely and much appreciated, I am running out of space! I'm going to have to buy a curio cabinet like the one my late grandma Loader had, only hers was filled with miniature boots. I actually wouldn't mind a pretty antique French country style one though..
See?? I AM practically 80! Maybe it's time I embrace "granny chic".
To deal with the rain this week, we picked up several new books and DVD's from the library to snuggle up with on the couch. And although I have to confess that most childrens music annoys me, I really love Elizabeth Mitchell's sweet voice and gentle songs.
Sigh.. wish I could climb back under the covers now and read, but I have hungry bellies waiting. Appropriately enough, I am making Seitan stir-fry for dinner. :)
Living with 3 boys who spend there days light saber fighting, wrestling, castle and fort building, watching Speed Racer and Ninja turtles, has got me badly craving some girl time! I'm talking super frilly dress tea party time folks. So, I'm sure you will understand why this video spoke to me this morning. And although I do not advocate mail box smashing or stealing wine, I do think that it's fun to be a little spontaneous every once in awhile! :)
