Beautiful Life – Page 16 – Skies of Parchment

August 3, 2011March 7, 2013

Of a Birthday and Cake Pops

We celebrated a birthday last week!
It was a much-anticipated birthday. Much anticipated.
I suppose this was the first year that she really understood what was happening.
What there was to look forward to.
It was Zoe’s birthday!

She’s been talking about her birthday for weeks.
Probably because Olivia’s birthday is just a few months before
and that gives her even more reason to look forward to her own.

In keeping of family tradition of doing something special on the day of the birthday,
I asked her early in the week what she’d like to do for her birthday.
She didn’t need to think long, and said,
“Go to the beach!!”
So a beach day was planned, and a little friend and his mom and brother invited along,
since daddy wasn’t going to be able to go this time.

The day of the birthday she awoke so excited she didn’t know what to do with herself.
We had planned a little party for the following night,
and she suddenly didn’t want to go the beach after all,
lest she not be able to have a party and turn four!
Since she thought we all know she can’t turn four before her party.
And turning FOUR is the event of her year!
It took a bit of cajoling and convincing and talking
to make her feel comfortable enough to be okay with the beach idea
without fear of missing the entire party!
But at last she was convinced and excited!

Picnic packed,
beach gear loaded,
sunscreen grabbed,
towels tucked in,
chairs folded,
off we went!
It’s a lot of work to remember everything!
And I even forgot the salsa for the chips I packed.

It was the perfect day to be at the ocean.
Blue blue skies.
Enough breeze to cool our skin from the heat of the sun.
Enough space for active little children to run and jump and play!
I don’t know if our children or if us mothers enjoyed the day more. :)

Of Birthdays and Cake Pops 3

There is something about the ocean that is so soothing and restful,
even when there are four active children running around. :)
I wish I could live there…

It seems that I have just as pictures of the little sister as the actual birthday girl.
I think Zoe was so busy running around that it was hard to get a good picture of her!

We went on a long walk with the wagon and stroller,
and when we came back we realized we had forgotten how fast the tide can rise…

Not a pretty picture, and it was even more sad in real life.
My phone was in that pile, and was ruined, losing all my contact information. :(
That was the only sad thing about the day though, because it was so much fun for everyone!

We met Ben for supper, since he was working nearby, and he was able to be finish out the day with us!

And because it was her birthday, she was able to choose some candy…
much to her great delight!

We gave a bit bigger gift than normal this year…
[so the next few gifts will be smaller :)]
We had wanted a gift that encourages creativity and imagination,
not just that adds another toy to the collection.
The wonderful idea was given of a dollhouse…
so I searched craigslist and found this!
It included quite a bit of furniture as well, and we were all delighted!
I say “we” because little sis wants to be in all the action and play as well…

It has provided hours of creative play already!
As well as many opportunities for big and little sis to learn how to cooperate
and play together without fighting… :{

The following day was the party day,
and Zoe and I spent pretty much all day making
cake pops!

I’ve been sucked into the cake pop rage,
thinking they are just the more adorable little things ever!
I had shown Zoe a picture several weeks prior
and that is what she wanted for her party.

Sooooo, we attempted them, using Bakerella’s recipe.
We had fun,
we were almost in tears,
they were a blast to make,
they were a trial to make,
they were much harder to make than I ever thought!!!
[I may do a tutorial later on in the event that someone else would like to make them,
and just throw in a few tips I wish I would have known.]

We finished them up less than an hour before the party started.
Whew. That’s too close.
That’s a little stressful.

Zoe’s second cousin, Matthew, has a birthday two days after hers, so we celebrated together!
We invited a few of their mutual little friends to play at the park,
and had a few dessert munchies as well.

My great relief at having completed the cake pops in time lasted only briefly…
Because it was a very hot day
(117 degrees with the heat index – I know, crazy to be outside at all)
the chocolate on my dear little pops melted
and the pops did a graceful slide down their little poles and plopped onto the tray.
It was very very sad!

Little Matthew turned 3!

Zoe informed everyone she was now four.

Some of the little friends, looking adorable in their pint-sized chairs.

Happy birthday, sweet girl!
We love having you in our family!

And like you love for me to tell you,
“I’m sooo glad you’re my little girl, Zoe!
If you would be anyone else’s little girl,
I would be jealous!
And I would wish that you were mine!”
[she asks me to say this to her. :)]

You are dearly loved!

And the flurry of birthdays will be over…
after this Saturday, when Husband celebrates his!

~clarita

July 25, 2011March 7, 2013

A Day Off!

Friday night at dinner, Ben surprised me [greatly] by saying he wants to give me the day off on Saturday.
A very stunned wife stared at him in amazement, because a day off —-?
Exactly what is a day off? It seems I can’t remember.

I’ve only had one other such day since beginning my career as a mother. Without any appointments or schedules or places that I had to go. Exactly what does one even do on a day off?

My kind husband continued on… “I think you’ve been really tired lately. Maybe a little burned out? I know I’ve been working Saturdays and some evenings, so you’ve been doing double duty. And I’d like to give you Saturday off… Would you like that?”

A slow smile crept across my astonished face. Would I like that??
WOULD I LIKE THAT?!
Oh, indeed, kind sir, I would LOVE that, in fact.

My Type A personality wished I would have had a week to plan!
What does one do on a day off?
Where does one go?
What stores would I go to, without two kiddos in tow?
Where would I park with my journal and Bible and books?
What books should I read?

My tired-mommy mind, on the other hand, wasn’t about to plead for the following weekend instead of the the following day. What kind of woman would EVER refuse such a generous offer?! A day off looked like a breath of fresh air!

A few quick idea were jotted down, possible places to go, since I knew going out of town was definitely in the plans. We have no coffee shop in town, or bookstore/cafe, or anything remotely charming for such an occasion. McDonalds just wasn’t going to work. Or any of the many fast-food options we do have in town.

Saturday morning dawned…. We had already been planning to host people for lunch on Sunday, so I did spend the forenoon doing some food prep. That was okay. I was getting all afternoon and evening off, and that in itself was enough to make even the food prep exciting. :)

While I was making dessert and other meal plans, Ben took Olivia out on her first date. It was beyond precious. It was really for her birthday, two months ago, but it was her first date ever.

I have to insert here, that when I birthed Zoe, one of my very first thoughts upon knowing we had a little girl, was the excitement that she could go on a date with her daddy. I don’t know why that was one of my first thoughts, in the midst of birth excitement and feelings of physical pain beyond what I expected. But I was so excited about my little girl going on a date with her daddy.

Fast forward several more years, and it’s my second daughter now going on dates. To the donut shop. I should have sent the camera along with him, but knowing my husband, that would not have added to his time there. :) So I took a few pictures of them before they left.

They just melted me. A daddy and his little girl have got to be one of the most precious and tender things in this world.

Another little girl was also melted. As in “melt-down” though, at not being included in this one-on-one date. I tried to think of something to console her with, so Zoe and I made a paper chain, to count down the days until HER birthday, which at that point was less than a week away. Thoughts of birthdays made all tears flee at rapid speeds, and a happy three-year-old was chattering away as I mixed cream cheese with sugar and patted herbed hamburger steak into big pans.

And then – it was dress up time for me! Strappy sandals, flower brooch, sheer scarf, a touch of make up… and after kissing Husband and a million thanks, and after hugging wailing little girls who didn’t like the idea of their mother going away without them [how dare she!], I drove off.

A phone call to my grandmother to wish her a happy birthday as she nears 80 years old, a call to the florist shop to deliver flowers to her door, a chat with my own dear mother, and even some moments of utmost quietness made up my one-hour drive to my destination.

A few stops at various stores, just because I could. A music store, to buy a copy of beautiful new piano music, a craft store to buy a few supplies for a party coming later this week, a few clothing store faves…. just to check their sale racks, of course. :) Nope, just because I could. And finding a few new cutesy things that good prices. I did try to be a good girl… :)

I do adore the feminine style that can be found so readily these days. Designers sure are creative when it comes to styles and fashion. I love the ruffles, the lace, the flowers, the skirts and dresses… It seems the last few seasons I keep thinking styles can’t get any more darling, and they DO! They sure know how to tempt people trying very hard to stay within the budget…

But the majority of my time was spent at a little table in the cafe corner of Barnes & Noble.
My heavy bag containing my journal and Bible was taken off my weary shoulder,
and I had a date with my Daddy.
More than anything, solitude and quietness refresh my soul.
As much as I adore my husband and little girls, time spent solo is what my soul craves for restoration and rejuvenation.

A quiche from the cafe, as well as a [venti] Caramel White Mocha, added the perfect touch.
Oh, and One Thousand Gifts.
Pages in my journal were scrawled, pages in books turned.

If I could have openly wept in that little corner of B & N, I would have. Truth be told, I didn’t feel like causing a scene. But my eyes were constantly filling with tears as I sat there… reading… writing… thinking… thanking. My heart really needed to be refreshed… encouraged.

That week I had been feeling so weary, and yes, a little discouraged.
Am I doing this mommy thing okay?
I feel like I mess up so often…
Will my children need counseling when they grow up?
Could someone please walk beside me and just tell me I’m going to make it?
How can I have enough of energy for everything that I’m supposed to do?
How can I reach around and love everyone well?

I had been longing for mentors, in flesh and blood.
God gave me mentors that day, but in the form of written words.

There were two mentors “present” with me, other than God.
One was an article from John Piper’s website [found on Janelle’s blog – thank you!!] that I had printed and brought along with me. Here are a few paragraphs from a powerful post…

“Everywhere you go, people want to talk about your children. Why you shouldn’t’t have had them, how you could have prevented them, and why they would never do what you have done. They want to make sure you know that you won’t be smiling anymore when they are teenagers. All this at the grocery store, in line, while your children listen.

Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get. In fact, children rate below your desire to sit around and pick your toes, if that is what you want to do. Below everything. Children are the last thing you should ever spend your time doing…

If you grew up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood, to think like a free Christian woman about your life, your children….Is motherhood a rock-bottom job for those who can’t do more, or those who are satisfied with drudgery? If so, what were we thinking?…

Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.

Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory. When you are in public with them, you are standing with, and defending, the objects of cultural dislike. You are publicly testifying that you value what God values, and that you refuse to value what the world values. You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent everything that our culture hates, because you represent laying down your life for another—and laying down your life for another represents the gospel.

The question here is not whether you are representing the gospel, it is how you are representing it. Have you given your life to your children resentfully? Do you tally every thing you do for them like a loan shark tallies debts? Or do you give them life the way God gave it to us—freely?

It isn’t enough to pretend. You might fool a few people. That person in line at the store might believe you when you plaster on a fake smile, but your children won’t. They know exactly where they stand with you. They know the things that you rate above them. They know everything you resent and hold against them. They know that you faked a cheerful answer to that lady, only to whisper threats or bark at them in the car.

Children know the difference between a mother who is saving face to a stranger and a mother who defends their life and their worth with her smile, her love, and her absolute loyalty.

Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work…”

[Rachel Jankovic]

I read and re-read those words, finding strength and deep encouragement in them. I was so challenged and convicted and encouraged all at once.
The whole article can be found here.

And I read the first three chapters of Ann Voskamp’s beautiful words. Through tears. She is an anointed writer, who reaches deep into the hearts of readers with her words. Now I know why people read and re-read this book. I would have sat all night and finished at one time, had I had no time limit.

The last few years I’ve felt and known my need of God more than any other time of my life.

When I was single, I thought I was a fairly sanctified person. Sure, there were areas I knew that needed God to desperately work in them, but it felt like I was on the road to being a person with less and less flaws. [doesn’t that sound awful!? i’m embarrassed to admit it!]

After I got married, my weaknesses suddenly flared up wildly. You mean I had disagreements with my husband? You mean I had a hard time admitting I was wrong? You mean I had a hard time surrendering to an unknown life? Yes, all of the above. And I suddenly felt very much in need of God.

And then there were children…. and my weaknesses and faults and blind spots seem to glare at me daily. How can little people of such short years and short stature show up my sinfulness so drastically? How is it that I feel like a perfect heathen some days? Never have I realized my own shortcomings, not only in myself and how I relate to my family, but in how I relate to other people, and my faults in relationships and how badly I mess up.

But there is grace. Sweet grace.

And in those few short hours, I took hold of His grace yet again.

I walked away feeling like a new woman, with a fresh sense of hope. A renewed sense of purpose. A taking hold of Truth once more, a desire to live our of fresh conviction and courage and love and life and purpose….

Such days are rare, quiet rare. And I cannot live my life waiting for such glorious moments of quiet. For long time of no interruption.

But God will continue to meet in the midst of the busy moments, in the middle of pitter-patters of feet and chatter of baby voices. He is always near.

And thank you, dear husband, for the my soul refreshment…
I am a better wife and mother because of it. :)

~clarita

July 21, 2011March 20, 2013

A Taste of Summer

I’m in my afternoon perch, with a cup of, well, I was going to say, “fresh-squeezed lemonade”
but it’s been a few days since the “squeezed” part. So, with an ice-cold glad of homemade lemonade.
Nothing beats a cold glass of lemonade in the middle of these blazing summer days!

Every afternoon, I am presented with a dilemna:
do I rest while the girls rest or do I use that precious bit of quiet time for something else?
I’m not a napper, but almost every morning when I smilingly greet the day groggily roll out of bed,
I think to myself, “I’m still sooo tired. Today, for sure, I will take a nap.”

And what do you know, but when both girls are either resting or in their quiet time hour,
that little bit of quietness seems soooo precious that I just can’t bear to loose it on sleep.

So sometimes I clean, just so the toilet won’t have an extra set of hands [without gloves] trying clean its interior.
Or sometimes I read, which happened more frequently in the winter than it does now.
Or sometimes, oftentimes, it’s just time of day to catch up with emails and online things,
because the girls don’t like when I’m on the computer very much during their waking time.

So what feels like a great dilemna in the morning is usually not even a question by after lunch.
Today is a such similar day.

Welcome to some rest and quiet, my house beckons me.
And I respond in the affirmative.

We’ve been having a full but rather restful summer.
With family out of state, most summers we make an extended trip up north
and other weekend trips scattered around.
This summer, with planning to go to Colorado for three months this fall, we’re sitting low.

That doesn’t really mean we’re not doing anything,
because we’re still finding plenty to do, but it definitely makes our summer feel much less busy.
Ben has been working a few side jobs, which take some evenings and Saturdays,
trying to save up a little bit because the not-working-for-three-months this fall.

And the girls and I have been having a lot of good times together.
With the intense heat, we’ve been staying indoors more than I like to be,
but I’m the first one to want to get back in the air conditioning when we are brave enough to step outside!
We have a little kiddie pool, and all four of our little family has been known to get in it at one time. :)
That’s desperate, but hey, it’s water, and it has great cooling effects!

The girls were enrolled in the Summer Reading Program at the library, which went on for 6 weeks,
so that felt like a big chunk of time that we set apart for that.
A library day once a week, rather than our normal bi-monthly, and extra reading time every day.

Zoe is a big reader – not that she reads herself,
though she tries to convince herself and us that she indeed can,
but the child does not tire of being read to.
My voice would grow hoarse before she’d say she’s had enough, and it has.

Olivia, with the Energizer-Bunny personality,
is just growing into the books that actually have more than 5 words on the page.
It’s taken her a long time to settle down enough to enjoy it,
but my scholar-heart is rejoicing that she is showing signs of improvement. :)

I read over 80 books to Zoe during those 6 weeks,
which really is that not much when broken down by week,
but it felt like we were reading all the time. Which she loved.
And which I was a little relieved to have it over with. :)

But in the end she won a small art set, which she was so pleased with she couldn’t stop smiling.
She’s never painted before. Ever. Crayons, almost daily.
But this was a first, and it was an instant hit. She did so well.
I drew a basic house outline and she took it from there.
I was in the same room but she worked alone for two hours.

painting.

she added the clouds and sunshine and chose all the colors. i was so proud of her!

imaginations
with daddy’s socks and little dollies.

picking blueberries.

little hands with little buckets. little buckets that are always emptied after two little “ping” sounds of blueberries.

little mouths that turned blue.

little girl that got herself dressed in sunday frock finery to pick blueberries.

little girl who is always an
early riser.

friendship.
precious even in little children.

french braids
for two-year olds.
[and whose mother bribed her with charlie & lola vidoes while hair was being combed]

watermelon.

i think we can each eat a whole melon. :)

a extra good day of
couponing.

strawberry smoothies.

homemade soft pretzels.

shish kebobs.
i can’t get enough of them!
[follow the link to get the recipe!]

little olivia
growing up.

potty-training.

which has gone FAR better than expectations. sigh of relief!

laundry.
hung outside.

mr. turtle
for a pet.

little sister is not so gentle.
“here, let me help you stick your head out.”

baby bunny
rescued and nursed to health.

picnics
by the river.

we thought it was going to be a date, but not after all…
and it was scorching hot and lots of bugs, so the pictures were better than reality. :)

summertime in a bucket.
[grandma’s house on corn day]

“Alas! if the principles of contentment are not within us,
the height of station and worldly grandeur will as soon add a cubit to a man’s stature as to his happiness. “

[Laurence Sterne]

and that’s a small taste of our summer so far!

~clarita

July 12, 2011March 7, 2013

Savannah {II}

Summertime seems to bring an overload of pictures to my camera and computer.
Oh, I realize, I’m fully guilty of putting said pictures on said gadgets.
Happily, I do so, wanting to capture these precious moments!
It’s just a bit harder to catch up in photo albums, scrapbooking, and blogs when pictures are continually streaming in.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to know:
Shall I just soak in the moment without a camera?
Or grab the camera and remember the moment forever?
It’s a hard choice, and I do both.
But often if I didn’t grab the camera, I regret that decision.
But do I want my children to always think of me as camera-in-hand?

Pictures are a big deal to me.
Not as in feeling the need to compete with the big guys out there that are simply amazing.
But as in, wanting to remember these days.

Well, not all days.
I’d better be honest. :)
Some days are best forgotten, and I’d rather remember another.
Some days when my patience is less than a fraction and I end in tears.
Some days when it seems as though someone wakes up with the intent
to make our lives are miserable as possible by morning grouches [until stopped, of course].
But most days… most days I want to remember.
And a picture transports me back to the moment like nothing else can.
Well, music can do that to me too.
But I can’t capture music like I capture a picture.

The rest of this post is almost entirely a picture post.
And a long one, at that. Just so you know you were warned! :)
Savannah,
once again. :)

The occasion this time was a visit from my parents and brothers over July 4th.
So this would be more appropriately titled:
‘July 4 – Savannah’
but since the 4th is long past, and I didn’t want you all to think I was a week behind in my calendar….

I should insert a bit more history into this post than the last, since we took a carriage ride
{compliments of father dear}
and heard history about Savannah from 1700-2010’s…
But since I always needed to study really hard to memorize dates for tests in school,
I’m not the one to be telling you history dates.
Other than that Savannah was begun in the 1700s,
and there is a vast mixture of architectural design here
{please don’t ask me names}.
But, translated, that means,
THERE ARE AMAZING BUILDINGS IN SAVANNAH! :)

And we were with amazing people!
When your family lives almost a thousand miles away,
time spent with them is ever so special!

[cathedral spires]

[small dome with old bell dating from the 1700’s, gift from France]

[side entrance (not main) to one of the above cathedrals]

[There are gorgeous old oak trees, that must be hundreds of years old, based on their size…]

[there are city parks almost every block, when you near the River
and often musicians that hope for spare change]

[John Wesley, who preached in Savannah]

[there was a loving grandmother who walks with her granddaughter]

[there was a little girl who loved the attention of Papa & Nana and two uncles]

“Can you pleeeeease wear your fedora hat while we’re in Savannah?
At least for a few pictures?”

[there were fun uncles to play with and hold tired girls]

[there was the brother James, an avid skateboarder.
and quite good too, if I may say so]

[there were my parents themselves,
we even did a little photoshoot in downtown Savannah :)
(with my dad’s fancy-shmancy camera that I hardly knew how to operate)]

[papa explaining the gargoyles (as I run to the spell-check)]

[Savannah is where Paula Deen launched her first big restaurant, if I’m correct]

[Lady & Sons: isn’t that a precious name?]

We stopped for an ice cream break after passing by [not through] Lady & Sons.
When I got Zoe dressed that morning, I didn’t realize the shoes she chose were too small.
That shows how often the girl wears shoes in the summer.
So she walked barefoot most of the day.
[Eeeeww, gross, I know. I could hardly stand it!]
Papa loved her anyway.

[I love this tender moment!]

Not to be out-done, Olivia joins in the middle with her monkey-business.
The tender moment in the background continues.

These little girls just love their grandparents!

And my dear husband, who I wanted to get father/daughter pictures of that day.
But it wasn’t going to happen.

[another failed photo shoot.]
this was less than 15 minutes after arriving and the shoe was starting to pain the child.
that also means she didn’t like the idea of pictures.]

There are grandiose homes in the city. Absolutely breathtaking!
The carriage ride we took was just at dusk,
and although I was disappointed when it got too dark for pictures,
the evening light made the homes look so cozy!

[not sure when I stopped using these things ][]

July 4 192 July 4 200

And even stores have beautiful window boxes.

There is a charming Irish restaurant, where at least one movie was filmed by the red telephone booth. Savannah has had many movies filmed in the city, so we heard.

[PRESH-ous!]

[more closer to the river]

[these used to be storage for carriages.
now people pay a lot and park their swanky cars in them]

[also the place of a few pictures]

James and David

Our little family, where I completely overexposed the pictures. Grrr..

Since it was July 4th, there was festive decor everywhere!
Check out those massive columns!

I added my own little bit of festive. :)

[I do have to give credit for these to my dear friend, Ruth,
who finds THE most amazing shoes ever.
I asked her if I could copy her… :)
Fourth of July aside, these make a great addition to the many black/white/grey outfits I often wear.]

And we ended the day with the celebration of the freedom of America,
with fireworks over the Savannah River!

A little girl, exhausted beyond words but still going strong.
Blurred pictures because of low shutter speed for lighting purposes,
but I love the story they tell of a little girl who loved her day.
And who is never too tired for just a little more excitement.
The perfect addition to the picture would be a navy/red flower thingy in her hair,
which I didn’t take the time to make…

July 4 222

A day in Savannah is always lovely.

A day in Savannah with family is even lovelier!

I am not to pretend that our family is perfect, because we are far from it.
Both our little family of four, and my larger family I was born into.
But we love each other so dearly, and I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of them!

I loved this quote I found,

“At the end of the day, a loving family should find everything forgivable. “
~Mark V. Olsen and Will Sheffer, Big Love

and this one

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.
Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”
~Jane Howard

Here’s cheers to families and to making memories together!

~clarita

April 5, 2011March 20, 2013

Perspective and Gratitude

I am writing from a cozy, reddish-burgandy chair in the fireplace corner of my parent’s living room in Pennsylvania. The rain is pounding outside the window, and the wind is blowing in great gusts. It reminds me of the hurricane weather that we get the effects of in Georgia. But it’s a very cozy sort of day! A morning where I don’t feel guilty at all, sitting curled up on a chair with a blanket and hot coffee. :)

[my father and Olivia]

[Zoe, reminding me of Dick & Jane :)]

The past few weeks have been a quick change of plans, due to various circumstances. About two months ago, Ben’s employer informed him that there wouldn’t be much work at all for the next 6-8 weeks. That was a big gulp for us – not that it had anything to do with his employer, but work in general has been slowing down very much in our area, and we knew we were finally feeling it now too.

So in those 6-8 weeks there was some work that trickled in, and well, some days there was nothing. Ben had work probably 50% of the time, maybe a little more, due to little odd jobs popping up – which were not happenstance at all, but God’s provision for us.

[Pennsylvania has THE greatest Goodwills and consignment shops! I was more delighted than the girls with these finds there. :)]

But two weeks ago he learned that there was nothing at all for the next two weeks. Meanwhile, my dad had offered him a temporary job would he need work. So, in the course of 1-2 days, we decided to load up our suitcases, jump in the car, and head up north. We thought we’d stay a week – we’re ended up staying two.

It’s been a great arrangement, and we are feeling incredibly blessed.
Blessed by the work that God has provided for Ben through my dad.
Blessed by the leisurely days of time with my family that normally feels so rushed when I come back home. Blessed by the friends and family that I’ve seen and have yet to see.
Blessed by the snow on 4/1 ~ I think it was God’s April Fool’s joke. :)
Just blessed by so many things….

[snow on April 1 in Pennsylvania]

[Absolutely delighted little girls! Zoe groggily came down the stairs that morning and peered out the window. “What’s that white stuff?” she mumbled through sleepy eyes. Then she audibly GASPED and said, “IS THAT SNOW??!” :) It was precious. Her excitement was contagious, and we went out and played in all the one-inch delight of it!]

[we were so unprepared for snow! she got so cold in her pajamas, spring jacket, and sock mittens! but was she ever excited!]

I’ve been thinking lately how my quality of life is affected so much by our perspective on life. By how we view things. By how we see God in it, rather than seeing only the hard things…

I thought of it when I texted my neighbor, Lauren, one morning on her way to work, telling her I was thinking of her. I knew she had a huge detour to make on the way due to a forest fire in the neighboring town. She has a little girl, and leaving for work on a normal day is early. Leaving for work on a day where the drive takes an hour longer than usual is even earlier. But I loved her perspective when she texted back, saying that yes, the drive was long, but at least she had a house that was standing, and a family that was not suffering from smoke inhalation…. I love how she chose to see the good things that day…

I think of it when Ben doesn’t work much work, when pennies are pinched tighter than usual, when runs to the grocery store are mostly milk and eggs, and menus are planned around economical things instead of trying out new gourmet recipes. Hard? No, not really. Challenging? Sometimes.

But I really don’t think that I know what hard is. Hard is not eating eggs and casseroles instead of a French I-can’t-pronounce-it-food. [Not that I make many French-sounding things at all anyway! Ha!]

[a bag that we saw while perusing/window shopping… isn’t it so great – out of a burlap coffee sack? i would love to make a similar one]

What hard is, is losing a family member…
…is having an earthquake wipe out a huge area of your country…
… is having a tsunami wash your children out to sea, never to be found again…
…is never ever feeling loved, by anyone….
… is feeling like there is no safe place on earth for your heart…
… is having your house and all your sentimental treasures burn to the ground, and be left with only the clothes on your back…
…is having not a bite of food for your children and watching them starve before your eyes…
… is having your country ravished by a people that seem more like savage animals than human beings…
… is being homeless, and having no where to go at night except a warm grate or a kind shelter.

Work for us hasn’t been steady, but you know, we are really so so blessed. God has been faithful to provide for us. We aren’t starving. At all. We might not have an abundance of material things, but we DO have an abundance of vast blessings of so many kinds!

I think there is so much emphasis placed on introspection that we can easily lose our attitude of gratefulness. We can get so caught up in the things that don’t go right and that have gone wrong that I forget to thank God for the many many things that are incredible blessings. In our North American/western-world mentality, we can get so upset about the things that go wrong, not realizing that on a bad day, we have much more than 80% of the world on their best day.

There is definitely a place for introspection, for being real about life and the hard things we face. I’m not discrediting that. I love people that are real and when asked, “Hey, how are you?” can answer honestly, “You know, my day is just rotten.” Or, “The last few weeks have just been HARD.” But what I don’t like is when people stay there. Their whole lives. And they can never get past the bad and the rotten.

It feels like God is calling me out and asking me to look for the blesssings that are sometimes in disguise. Not in a fake, pretensive way. But in a way that is calling me to look beyond right now, and trust His heart for today. Trusting that He sees the bigger picture. Fearless trust. And the more He calls me into this, the more I realize how little I know about trust. About fearless trust. But I want to live that way.

I want to live wanting GOD more than I want my life to be a certain way. I want to want God more than things to go well. I want God more than an easy life…

Perspective ~ choosing to see God in my days… Choosing to be grateful. Choosing GOD in the little moments of my days, those defining moments that could threaten to ruin my day or walk forward with more knowledge of His faithfulness… So help me, God!

~clarita

February 26, 2011March 20, 2013

Happy Spring Things

Happy Things…

… The first glimpse of spring on the maples!
The weather here has been divine – and coming from me, that’s saying a lot. :)

… Being involved a bit in a Widow’s Banquet our church did for ladies in the community.
These roses made me nostalgic for my former days at a florist shop…

… making some lace scarves. I just love the feminine lace & ruffles this spring!

… Finding strawberries on sale – fresh from Florida! – for seventy-five cents a quart.
I made 75 chocolate covered strawberries for the Widow’s Banquet, a few for ourselves, and made our year’s supply of strawberry jam!

… Friday night bike rides through the neighborhood. Chasing down an ice-cream truck we heard somewhere off in the distance, blaring “Yankee Doodle” until the poor driver must go batty, and finding the “truck” was actually a hippie van with ice cream pictures on the outside and a huge horn in the front. To say I found this amusing it putting it very lightly. :)

… The anticipation of tomorrow.
I’m going to be gone for a little while, because…

BECAUSE!!

I get to spend an entire week with some of my favorite people in the world…

My three beautiful sisters and mother and grandmother [and my two daughters]!

I live almost a thousand miles away from all of them, and rarely am able to spend more than just a lunch or breakfast with all of us together. So to be able to together for a week, in the sun, with all of them, is just beyond exciting.

My heart beats wildly just thinking about this!

Florida, here we come!

My sisters, my best friends.

And after that high excitement, I’ll be back. :)

~clarita

February 15, 2011March 20, 2013

Of Princesses and Pink Cupcakes

The past few weeks since the girls have returned to good health [after the two-week illness bout over Christmas] have been so wonderful. These are the kinds of days I imagined when I thought about what being a mom would be like one day in the far future. :)

… happy, giggling children
… happy chattering
… occassional fights, but nothing to disturb the day too greatly

[The Dining Room mantel]

However, I live in the real world like everyone else, so not every day is like that! [see previous post]

But the past few weeks Zoe has been over-the-top happy. As in, giggles after almost every sentence she says. At stuff that isn’t even remotely funny. Fits the perfect description of “chatterbox.” So sweet to her sister [well, except for when I’m on the phone catching up with friends I haven’t talked to in months; then, well…]. Just generally happy almost all the time. It really is quite amazing. Not that she wasn’t usually happy, but now she’s just gushy happy.

Olivia, on the other hand, is in rough waters with teething. Part of her sickness over Christmas, along with the flu, was getting all four eye teeth at once. Since finally cutting those, she’s still been sooo grumpy, and it dawned on me through a talking-with-a-seasoned-mom-moment that she is also cutting her 2-year molars early. Sooo, still working on better days with that poor child. At least now I have more sympathy. :(

[Anyway, that part was for my mom. :) It’s not like everyone else is interested in hearing about someone else’s teething child. But Nana? Yep. She’ll listen for hours. ♥]

Zoe has also been living in the imaginary world of being a Princess. This just thrills my heart, seeing the innocence, the core desires of a girl’s heart being voiced so unassumingly. “Mommy! Look at me! I’m a blue-ti-ful Princess!”

[She has a lisp, or a “listhp” :), but most of her words are pronounced correctly. But she always says, “blue-ti-ful.” And I think it’s so precious I’m not about to try to change it.]

There is no shame in voicing the question, “Do you like me, Mommy?” just to hear a reassuring YES along with a tight squeeze. Or in asking, “Am I blue-ti-ful?” to hear the pride in a parent’s voice in the YES, because parents generally think their child far exceeds normal standards of beauty, blinded-by-love though they may be. There is no shame in enjoying beauty, in being beauty. “Mommy, watch me dance!”

My children teach me so much about God. And about relationship with God. About going to God honestly with the questions I’m feeling. It’s not silly or ridiculous. That’s what relationship is about – honesty and being vulnerable with our hearts before God. Not pretending that everything is okay if it isn’t. Being honest if we need a hug today. Being real with God, like Zoe was yesterday morning, “I’m sorry I wasn’t being nice to you, Mommy…” I’m intertwining the various relationships here, but I hope you follow. No wonder Jesus told us to be like a little child…

So the combination of Princess-love and hearts and pink and Valentines’s Day called for some pictures. I don’t claim to be a good photographer, and sometimes I’m rather embaressed to put up my shots, but you know, this is our life; we’re normal, we’re not perfect, but we invite you as friends. Although I would love to take a real photography course sometime, just to learn more about it. Any good suggestions? [on one that wouldn’t break the bank account?] Some of you “real” photographers have given me tips here and there and I love when you guys do that.

These pictures were taken in evening light, and I just loved the softness about them.

These following pictures were taken on a cloudy day, and I thought the lighting would be perfect. But just as we started taking pictures, the sun broke through the clouds VERY brightly and thus the harsh lighting. :( Re-doing wasn’t really an option, because, well, my girls aren’t really photogenic. :) It’s more like I run after them trying to snap a few pictures that hopefully will turn out. Olivia especially. She’ll probably wonder why I hardly have any pictures of her. And I’ll say, “Because you were always a blur, a whirlwind of running.”

But if she is fascinated by Zoe, then we can get a few still shots. But definitely not posy-posy. Oh no.

Valentine Princesses 124

On my chalkboard in the dining room, which adjoins to the living room, I have written:

TODAY:
– enjoy little things
– smile at my children
– choose to Trust

So because I want to make it a point to do fun little things with my children, and to meaningfully look into their precious little faces and smile into their eyes…

…and since Zoe is SO into pink [that was the first color she recognized, and it’s still her favorite today], and because this book is one of her favorites ever ever ever…

…we made pink cupcakes for Valentine’s Day. We had SO much fun! I felt like a little girl myself, and I don’t normally enjoy baking all that well.

I am not a baking genius, lest this picture fools you. My secret lies in the next picture.

Pillsbury Cake Mix, you are my new friend. You make baking so easy, and look so amazing. Baking right after breakfast was actually easy, due to these easy ingredients:

Other than Zoe cracking an egg and it sliding down off the counter and running down the cabinets and making a puddle on the floor [“I can do it! I can do it!!” she had emphatically told me], and other than batter flying around the kitchen when she was mixing up the batter with the electric mixer, it was a grand success. She chattered like a magpie during the whole 2 hours, or however long we were baking. I hope she remembers times like this, because this day will go down in my memory as pure loveliness.

[Pajama-clad and morning-hair glory all three of us. I look like I was either 1) crying my eyes out the night before, or, 2) just woke up 3 minutes prior. Neither was the case.]

BUT – the point of this picture is the matching aprons! They were a gift from my sister Ervina, and I’m sure she has no idea how much we love wearing them together. And if I forget, Zoe will remind me. She loves it that much. And besides the fun we have wearing them, we can think about Auntie Ervina and how much we miss her… ♥

Zoe’s role as Assistant Gourmet Artist was taken seriously.

This part of putting on the sprinkles delighted her little soul to no end. “Enjoy little things…”

And of course, whenever there is baking, there are always eager tasters.

We wrapped a couple of them up in little paper wrappers, inspired completely by Rachel. Never in a hundred years would’ve I thought of such a cute idea.

I love white cake stands, but have none of my own. So, putting a plate on top of a white milk glass bowl creates the effect I’m looking for. At least, until it has to be moved. :)

Zoe was making all kinds of faces that morning for the camera. These are for my mom too. :)

And thus ends my rant on how FUN it is to have two little girls. :)
I would like to have 2 more, just like them, please. :) And then boys may start after that. But I LOVE having two little girls!

[And now I’ve used up all my picture allowance on xanga for the month. And it’s only the 15th. Premium suddenly looks appealing. So if you see me uploading strange amounts of pictures to facebook, it’s because I can copy and paste, thus the odd size picture assortment…]

And that’s the post Of Pink, Of Princesses, and Of Cupcakes.

-clarita