Clarita

September 24, 2011March 7, 2013

Ohio Trips & Tales

So it’s another Saturday where Husband is working in order to finish up jobs because we leave,
and when my wonderful sister Claudia was here for the whole week
and we are still in mourning over her leaving this morning,
and where the girlies think their mother is not nearly so exciting and fun as Auntie Claudia,
and where I’m thinking of happy weeks gone by.

Do people even do a post about things back a month or so ago?
I rarely see them, but the past month has been sooo wonderful and full of good things
that I just want to recap it and remember it all over again.
I feel out of the loop with blogging, so let’s see how this goes…
This is going to be more of a narrative than anything, just so you know. :)

It’s been a busy month – two trips, and some visitors inbetween.
I’ll start with the trip to the lovely state of Ohio!

Our entire trip was filled to the brim with friendships and family.
Just so so fun!
Our main purpose for the trip was to attend the Barkman Family Campout,
an annual tradition with my dad’s family and one we rarely have been able to attend.
And while we were traveling anyway, visiting some friends we rarely get to see.

I jotted down little snippets from our trip as it went along. It started out with…

… Zoe’s accident in Olivia’s car seat minutes before leaving. (!!!) With no time time to wash the seat, we stuffed it with towels. Hey, you gotta do what ya gotta do, gross though it is.

… a stop at Cracket Barrel some hours into the trip. We always stop at the said restaurant, if Ben has any say about it. Good old fashioned cooking, that’s his favorite. The waiter brought out the expensive glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice that we ordered and wondered who it went to. “Well, we all ordered one,” Ben joked, as he likes to do with dry humor, just wanting to the waiter to know how much we love that O.J. A few minutes later I burst into gales of laughter when the waiter brought out THREE more glasses, and Ben’s faces was a mixture of terror and astonishment as the $$$ signs danced in front of him. “I can’t pay for all those juices! They’re terribly expensive!” Apparently not everyone knows when he’s joking. We paid for the 4.

… Olivia’s accident in the same car seat on top of the said towel while sleeping. Seriously. We dug out more towels from the camping stash for the weekend. Traveling sure is different with kiddos. :)

… laughing and laughing with Zoe and Olivia in the backseat as we sang silly songs at the top of our lungs like, ” Down By the Bay” and “Five Little Ducks”.

… priceline-ing a hotel. Disappointed by the old Ramada, but you know, although I’d much prefer a Hampton or something of that quality, a good reminder that all is temporal. As Ben reminded me jokingly to cheer up my disappointment, “Just pretend you’re in Asia [with my sisters who were still there at that point] and then this would be really nice then!” Very very true.

… Zoe’s excitement over the hotel. She was telling all her friends before we left about the hotel. I don’t think she ever remembered staying at one before. :)

… Oliva woke up the next morning at the hotel before anyone else and was so disoriented. She bolted for the door and had we not grabbed her who knows where she would have ended up.

… finally arriving in Bay Village, Ohio, to visit my dear aunt and uncle Dean and Grace, and my cousin Katherine! They treated us royally, and we had a splendid day together. Grace does so well with making guests feel so special. There were orchids on the bathroom mirror. Chocolates and a welcome note on the guest bed. Even a rosette on the toilet tissue, made from the tissue itself.

My Aunt Grace and I are as close in age as she and my mother, so she’s always felt like a big sister to me.
I love her so dearly! She is the epitomy of her name ~ so gracious and sweet and beautiful!

… Olivia made herself right at home by squatting down on their patio and doing some serious potty business within 1/2 hour of arrival. That child never ceases to embarrass me.

… enjoying a beautiful walk through a nature preserve or park, seeing unafraid deer.

… Uncle Dean treated us all to ice cream at a little shoppe right at the edge of Lake Erie.

Ohio Vacation! 024

… yard saling with my aunt Grace Thursday morning. Finding a Bitty Baby doll (American Girl) for $15, after just mentioning less than a week before that I would love to find one of those, but never dreaming I would! Also finding a lovely collection of the Little Kelly’s and some of their play things for $2 -saving them for our long trip out west. Quite a few Usborne books about animals and the world for a dollar or two each. Seriously, yard sales in my aunt’s area of unbelieveable!

After spending a day in the northern part of Ohio, we headed south a bit…

… and I met this lovely woman for the very first time at Wallhouse Coffee!

Jenny has been someone I have long wanted to meet, and each time I attempted it before it just didn’t work.
I was holding my breath on this trip, but plans worked for a teency-weency hour together. In between her little girl needing to go potty twice and my littlest peeing herself it seemed like five minutes. :) I loved her instantly. She is just as real and sweet as her blog, and I counted it an honor to meet her in real life! I think we could have talked hours if given the opportunity. I hope one day! :)

And our little girls played together as though they’d known each other for years. It was so precious.
I was so happy they got to meet each other.

Our trip continued, and we spent the night at the sweet home of Jared and Dora. We have long been friends, and have made memories together at Bible School, in Asia, in Ohio, and Pennsylvania. She is one of those people that make me laugh like few people can, and is just a sweetheart! She and Jared treated us like honored guests. We just had the best time, and wished it could have been longer! ♥

Friday morning we wound around the hill country of southern Ohio and arrived at the Barkman Campout!
Beautiful weather for most of the weekend, much cooler than our Georgian weather, and wonderful company.
This family numbers over 60 people, and yet is such a close-knit family.
My grandparents had one daughter and seven sons, and they are tight as can be.
I absolutely LOVE being with them.
We can talk honestly and we can laugh until tears stream down our cheeks.
Such a great bunch.
It makes it feel as though everything is right with the world. :)

Six of the seven brothers. My aunt and her husband are in Africa as missionaries, and weren’t able to be there.

These brothers are such clowns. Here they are trying to intimidate the younger generation before the annual ball game by belting out, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

The girls just loved it too. Even though they rarely see this side of my family, they found friends right away.
I loved that.

One of the uncles, who was telling Winnie-the-Pooh stories, sounding exactly like all the characters.
Children weren’t the only ones entertained!

My grandfather, the patriarch of the family, with the youngest grandchildren and great-grand.
This picture is so precious!

We were tent camping all weekend, and awoke Sunday morning to thunder and then rain.
Thankfully, there was a large tarp that we all huddled under and that was big enough for most of us to stay fairly dry. :)

But we were so so thankful for the mercy of God when a bolt of lightning struck a tree 30 feet from where the entire family was standing. It didn’t even sound like the normal thunder, it was just a huge CrAcK that made the ears feel tingly. Amazingly, no one was hurt, even though people standing in the direction of the lightning saw the balls of fire rolling down the tree, and even though there was water standing everywhere on the ground. We all smelled the burnt smell, and were so sobered as we realized how tragic that could have been. Seriously, several, if not many, of us could have been wiped out with that powerful bolt of lightning. Truly, death and life are in the hand of God, and no one goes before the appointed time…

Our final stop on the way home was our friends Daniel and Anita, and their three beautiful children.
They lived in Georgia for 2.5 years, and we missed them so much when they moved back to Ohio!

I love this picture. They posed entirely on their own, Blake giving directions to Zoe as to how they should stand. Can you tell he has very affectionate parents? :)

We were going to drive as many hours as we could after leaving their house, and then stop by the road only long enough to sleep enough to drive again.

That idea only lasted one hour of driving time, and then we parked in a McD’s parking lot and spent a MiSeRaBlE three hours before we finally broke down and got a hotel at 1am. :) That was the best thing we could have done, and we were all happier the next morning for it!

And that’s the recap of our lovely week spent in Ohio… It all worked out so perfectly in between Ben’s jobs and getting to be with all the wonderful people we saw.

I came back with a full heart, and lovely memories!

Friendship, and relationship, truly, are life’s sweetest gifts…

~clarita

August 25, 2011March 7, 2013

Five Years in the South

Home again, home again, after a most wonderful week in the lovely state of Ohio. I think Ohio is just so beautiful, plus, we spent time with so many wonderful people that my cup is just full and running over. ;)

There are pictures moved from camera to computer but they are so many that it will take another few days to work on editing. So, another post, another time.

I was working on this post the whole month of August, since the 3rd marked FIVE YEARS of moving to the Deep South, so I’ll finish this one out…

Five years seems to warrant some kind of celebration. A medal. A badge, saying “I made it!” or something. :) I’ve heard it said it takes five years to really truly adjust to a new area, and that’s about what it’s been for me.

Wow. Five years.

… since we sold our city row home, packed all our earthly belongings, and moved south. Moved into a house I had never seen before, on a dirt road, and back in the trees so far we couldn’t see our neighbors. That was quite an adjustment from living in the city and having our front yard be the sidewalk, where hundreds of people walk just inches from our front windows every day.

…since I left the rolling farm land of Lancaster County and moved to the flatlands of Georgia, where the only thing that grows is pine trees and onions. (just kidding. Well, sort of. J )

…since I left the tame farmyard animals of cows and horses to go to the native animals of armadillos, alligators, wild pigs, and snakes.

[baby armadillo found several years ago outside our house)

… where living near the ocean is simply divine.

[storm rapidly moving in]

… since I moved away from everyone I had known and moved to a place where I knew Ben’s family and that was it.

… where you can drive on flat country roads with child in lap

… where wide front porches are for watching rain and neighbor waves.

We now live in town, which is still relative. City here is more like development, and there is nothing over two stories, except a few historic mansions. :) Walmart is nearby, and Kmart, and well, a few little shops in the one-block downtown area and a few more scattered around town, but that’s about it. I was used to having any kind of shopping desirable within 15 miles.

I felt c.u.l.t.u.r.e. s.h.o.c.k. the first few months that I lived here. That was something I was not expecting. I mean, this is still the United States, right?

I remember one of the first times I was running errands in town. I went into the bank to make a transaction, and the teller found out who I was. “Ooooh, ah know Bee-yun!” she gushed, because Ben had worked at his dad’s car wash in town several years before we got married, and learned to know quite a few local people through that. We talked for a bit, and before I left I asked her name. “Tay-nuh” she told me. “Okay, nice to meet you, Tayna!” I said. “No, it’s TAY-nuh,” she said. “Okay, Tayna!” I happened to glance at the name tag that was sitting at her desk. Too late I realized I didn’t even understand when someone told me that her name was Tina. I remember wondering if I have to learn a new language to live here!!

The drawl was only one of the new things about living in the south. Everywhere I went, I felt like I was in another country and totally didn’t fit in! That is probably why I learned to pick up the drawl, if I need to, just so I didn’t feel like such an odd ball every time I went into town! And I used to make such fun of people that move to the south and start talking like that… J

But even more than the external changes, it feels as though the Lord has really used this time to change me deeper, on the inside.

Perhaps if one has never moved out of their home area they may not fully understand the identity crisis one goes through who is suddenly the new person, when they were once loved and known. To find a place of belonging when everyone else already has a place. To struggle with the new area when other people seemingly adjust well made a new person (me) feel as though there must be something dreadfully wrong with me. Feeling so stripped as a person that I wondered if I had anything left to offer anymore. And if Idid have something, would people want it, if they knew nothing about me? Leaving the security of family, the safety net of friendships formed by years of connection, to a place where I knew not a soul, and only been with my husband’s family several times…

Not everyone that moves feels all this so deeply, but to those who do, it is very very real. There is a deep sense of vulnerability. Will people get me? Will they like me? They don’t know anything about me or my family. I’m not known by anyone.

But I felt as though I didn’t even know who I was anymore.
And the new people around me didn’t know who I was either.

They didn’t know anything about me, except that I was Ben’s wife. Which is okay. It really wasn’t about them. But coming from an area where I knew so many people and where so many people know the family I come from, and doing what felt like starting over with my life, it was a lost feeling.

Not many people knew…
… if I was an only child or from a family of 6 kids
… that I loved music and the arts
… that I had traveled to 24 countries
… that I loved playing piano at weddings
… that I loved being involved in worship music at church
… whether my family lived in a shack or a nice home
… that my sisters and I are like this *entwines two fingers*
… that I loved education and wanted to go to college to further mine
…whether I was quiet or outgoing
… whether I was a dreamer or a realist
… that I had loved being involved in camps and kids clubs
… and a host of other things.

It’s not that I was upset at people for not knowing. It’s just that I felt so lost, so who I am??

I still see so many areas that the Lord is at work in me. And like almost everyone, I’m sure there are just as many blind spots not yet revealed. But looking back, I can see how God has really used this move to strip me of my “props” and who I thought I was. Was it easy? Ohmyword, no.

From the little list above, you can see that music, education, and traveling were huge to me. And really, looking back, I can see that I got my identity from those things. God had led me into so many wonderful opportunities before I was married, but I somehow had gone from looking at those opportunities as gifts to receiving my worth and affirmation from them.

It’s been a long road, this identity and stripping and growing and learning who I am all over again. Some of it has just been time. I have learned that it takes a lot of time to really feel at home.

But even more than that, it’s a releasing of what I thought I was. Of who I thought I was. Of what I expected to be. Of what I expected my life to be like. I remember sobbing to Ben once that it felt like I was being stripped of anything and everything that I ever knew and loved and cared out.

I don’t feel like I’m exactly “on the other side” of it all. But I do know that there is soul-rest within me that wasn’t present before. A fuller God-trust, that He IS good, and that His will for me IS perfect. I do not have to understand everything about life in order to trust, and believe His Sovereignty. And a letting-go, an unclenching of the fingers to be open-handed about what God wills for me. Wanting His glory more than my comfort. A release of expectation, letting go of my own way of doing things and trusting Sovereignty, the One who chose my paths since before time began.

Onto some every-day life experiences in a lighter note…

It’s been quite an adventure living here. It’s funny, because now, as I write this, I have to really think about what is so different. I’m much more adjusted to it than I realized I was! I’ve been thinking about this 5 Year Anniversary for a little while though, and thought of a few highlights/experiences/new things about living in the Deep South.

[and a few pictures of evening boating]

~For a true Southerner, so many things are fried. Fried green tomatoes, fried okra, fried chicken… And smothered in butter. Paula Deen is the epitome of true Southern soul food – I‘ve never eaten at her restaurant but from looking at pictures and her recipes I know that! I can’t say that I’ve adopted this style of cooking, although I enjoy eating it once in a great while!

~For excitement if you’re a teenager: there is “The Strip” [a particular section of a particular road on a particular side of town] where you drive your car, I mean truck, and wave at all the cute girls also riding their cars, I mean trucks. Really!! This actually happened in Ben’s day! I will not say whether or not her participated… J

[don’t these life-jacketed/swimsuits just look hysterical!?

~Other areas of excitement: mud-bogging, tractor and truck pulls, beauty pageants. I must say something about beauty pageants. I have never, never in all my life, seen so many pageants! There is at least one contest for every age girl from very newborn to Miss America age. Honestly!! The majority of Southern women care very much about their appearance, and the appearance of their much-too-young-to-care daughters.

~ The local newspaper has mainly two sections: news and sports. And no news outside of the county. Read that: county, not country. Oh, except an entire page dedicated to Nascar! rolls eyes :)

~ There are Rednecks that are proud as can be about being redneck. Even will differentiate between themselves [who they call classy Redneck] and other “lower-class” redneck. I was wide-eyed when I first heard this from a proud Redneck himself! These Rednecks do not say their “TH’s” and thus words become “dis, der,” and “dat” [this, there, and that]. And they say “birf-day.” :)

~ Men do not drive cars here. Rarely, rarely, will you see a man behind the wheel of a car. It is just not cool to drive a car! A truck. Yes, a very very big truck. The bigger, the better. And the hugest tires you ever, ever have seen. Some of them look like you need a ladder to climb up into them. Seriously!!

~ You can say anything about anyone as along as you end with a “Bless their heart!” Example: “That girl’s teeth are so bad they look like a half-eaten cob of corn! Bless her heart!”

[This blew my mind when I first saw it – however, Husband did clarify that this is not normal and would not be legal on-road, only in monster truck displays. :) But still……!!]

~ I think it is safe to say that the majority of people in this town have not traveled south farther than Florida, and north farther than one or two states (this is what Ben tells me). They simply have no reason to travel, because all or most of their family and friends are within several miles of them, right here.

~It is very, very rude to answer/address a person without saying, “Ma’am” or “Sir.” This is something children are taught from the time they start talking. And last names are not used when addressing someone. Instead of “Mrs Yoder” I am “Ms. Clarita” and my husband is “Mr. Ben.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone being called by their last name.

~ I learned to water ski in a lake known to have gators in it! No, I did not see any while we were there, but I know people that have. I was semi-okay being in the water as long as I was rapidly moving. But very very nervous when I was down in the water waiting for the boat to pick me up!!!

~ There are two seasons: Summer, and January/February/March. J No, not really. But summertime comes early and lasts late; normally, May through October are really hot months. In the intense heat of June/July/August/September, it’s gets up to 90-100 almost daily, with high humidity. So much humidity that you’ll start sweating at 7:30 in the morning, just from stepping outside the house.

~ Most of the local radio stations are Country. There is no classical station to be found. Only one Christian station accessible here. But many Country. Did I mention there are a lot of Country stations here?

~Gardening is very difficult. We have to plant 4 times the amount of fertile northern gardens to get barely a quarter of what they do… There is so much sand where we’re at. Our driveway is natural sand.

~“Proper” takes on a whole new meaning here. I was in a local salon one day, talking somewhat but mostly listening, very fascinated, to the locals talk. One of the very preppy ladies suddenly announced to everyone there that she “had to tinkle!” I just try to hide my wide eyes and sudden smile.

~ Everybody is a friend. Some you’re met, some you haven’t! When I go back north I wonder what everyone’s problem is – they’re just not friendly! In the north, sometimes one will see someone they know, and both parties will pretend to not see the other. Absolutely unheard of here, and now I can’t believe the lack of social politeness up north. Of course the friends you have up north are friendly, but here the general public is just nice to each other.

Here, there is a lot of “shmooze” – not all of which is sincere I’ve found – but the general idea is to make everyone feel as good as you can! It’s like there is an invisible contest to see who can make each other feel the best about themselves. J It’s quite interesting! Here, if you meet someone’s eye, they will at least acknowledge you with a smile or nod, and it’s not uncommon to chit-chat with a total stranger you meet on the street or in the grocery isle.

But sometimes it’s not as nice as you might hope. I had an experience a little while ago at a shop in town where I was looking at a go-away bag for Zoe. The lady gave me a price about something, all the while gushing and calling me “sweetie” and “darlin’” and all sorts of things, and told me that she is waaayyyy cheaper than another store where she buys them from (and named that store in TN). Little did she know I was going to that very area of TN the next weekend, and that was why I needed a bag! I ended up buying the bag simply because I needed one, but checked out that store when I was in TN. I was chagrined to see a much cheaper price than what I had bought for! And very chagrined to realized she had straight-out lied to me! In the north, there is not so much gush and goo, but my experiences there were that people were at least honest and straight-forward. Northerns are more “what you see is what you get”, and here sometimes it can feel more fake-sweet sometimes.

~ These Southern women can. gush. over. babies like you have never seen! In the north, you’ll often be met by a friendly, “Ohhhh, how sweet!” Down here, it’s a, “Looooook at the baybay! Her is sooooo precious! Yes, her is! Her is so SWATE!! [sweet]” and on and on, using terrible grammar reserved only for talking to babies. J Oh, and after being indignant several times over my baby being called this particular thing, I learned that it is actually a compliment (!!) for a baby to be called a “buggar”. Yes, really!

~ I think the Civil War is still going on down here. I don’t like to tell people I’m a Yankee. J Confederate flags still fly freely, and there is still a a lot of racism going on… A little bumper sticker and T-shirt I’ve also seen: “Fighting terrorism since 1861.” Are ya kidding me??? :)

~There is some Southern lingo that I had to learn when I first met Ben. I remember once when he was visiting when we were dating, and my whole family was seated at the dinner table. Ben was talking and started with, “One time when I was coming up…” and proceeded to tell the story. My whole family, including me, was lost. “Coming up where??” someone finally asked, because he never said his destination. Ben burst out laughing, and said that “coming up” is a term used in the south meaning, “growing up.” It doesn’t mean you’re going north somewhere!

Another time I heard someone describe a person as a “sorry man.” I thought that meant the man was apologetic. I learned later that really means that a man is a pathetic case, or without much character to show for!

“Ugly” is another term used to describe bad behavior. “You apologize to your sister right now! You were acting so ugly to her!”

Another term used frequently is “along and along.” Up north we would say “little by little” or “as we can.” Example: Mr. Smith is fixing up his house along and along.

~ Shopping carts are called “buggies” and the signs even write them as such in parking lots.

~Your ego could grow pretty fast here! Everyone calls each other “sweetheart” and “darling” and “baby” and “doll” – even if you don’t know each other. The cashier at the grocery store will call an old gentleman “sweetheart” and he’ll respond back by calling her “baby” or some such thing. This was a NEW thing for me down here, and I was not sure how to respond to all these gushy people! Older men in particular can be very “sweet on you”.

Sooo, five years later, I find myself feeling rather at home in the midst of all this! Yes, it’s taken a while, and Pennsylvania still feels like home to me too. But this has been quite an adventure, a rich experience to live here. I feel that I am bettered for it, and I am privileged to call many people true friends… I can laugh at some of my experiences rather than feel frustrated and out of place. I feel that I am still learning, because there are still some things that amaze me, but I think (most times!) I can take it with humor now instead of a bug-eyed where-am-I feeling!

Because, I mean, even my two daughters now say “nekked” and “ya’ll” and “don’t be ugly” and words I never dreamed my own children would say. I’m surrounded, and I give. :)

Y’all! have a great day J

–clarita

August 16, 2011March 14, 2014

Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade and Such

We’re off the rest of this week for a trip up to the northern parts, to leave the land of the hot and scalding and to hopefully get a happy little taste of weather to come. :)

This morning, actually, we woke up and the temperature was in the 70’s. That’s not happened for months and months – it’s been 80’s and 90’s for months on end! We had doors hanging wide open ~ it felt like autumn is coming!

We are so anticipating time with dear friends and family, and even the road trip time as a family. Preparing for three months in Colorado is big on our minds, and Ben has been working hard in order to prepare us to go. I understand it’s a season, and I’m fully supportive, but I will be very happy when we can have evenings and weekends together as a family again. :) But usually anything good takes sacrifice, right?

Letters.
From Cambodia. From my two sisters. ♥

Olivia.
This little girl has boundless energy and keeps me on my toes from morning till night. She does bring boundless laughter to us though, and I think I laugh at her more than I’ve ever laughed at a little kid. And, to be honest, I probably get more exasperated at her too. :) She’s turbo power in a mini-body.

I tried to take a shower on Saturday night, after a rather hairy day of taking care of children and Ben working long hours an hour away. I thought if I just finally make it to the shower I’ll keep my sanity. The girls had their baths, the house was mostly cleaned up, and I was ready for a little bit of peacefulness. Olivia had refused a nap all day, so she was tired beyond reasoning.

I was finally in the shower, girls playing outside the restroom, I thought. My loofah was all nice and sudsy, and it was that wonderful feeling of “all will be well with the world.” I don’t know about you other moms, but when I get in the shower, I just like to to be nice and quiet, and a chance to be all alone. For five minutes. I love my children dearly, but the shower is off-limits when I’m in there.

There were repeated commands of telling the girls to close the door and hey hey hey, play nice with each other. I lathered up one leg, ready to shave, when I heard the door swing open and both girls came in, Olivia needing to go potty. She hoisted herself up on the big potty, and I looked out the shower door just in time to see a stream hitting not the potty, but shooting out over the seat, onto her pajamas, and onto the floor.

Lathered leg or not, I was out of the shower, adding more wet (though of a different kind!) to the floor as I assisted the ending of that bathroom use. Then, because she had messed herself up, I just stripped her completely and brought her into the shower with me. First time for that, and she was thrilled.

Zoe saw the excitement of the moment, and before I knew it another little girl joined us in the shower. First time for her too. There were lots of giggles and squeals and they were really so happy and excited about how the day was turning out that I tried to join their mood too. :)

But that’s sort of how my days have been… I would not make a good single mom! And I’m so thankful that I’m not!

Zoe.
Zoe brings a different kind of style to the family. She’s big into getting herself dressed, and after I questioned this particular outfit and the matching ability, she assured me that “It matches just right! See, there are flowers on the top and flowers on the pants!” Oh, yes. Weak laugh. Flowers and flowers. Why did I not catch that? Real laugh follows. Oh well.

I won’t even stick a sign on her that says, “This child dressed herself!” :)

Pancakes.
We love making pancakes… We found a wonderful recipe that uses all whole wheat, and they are wonderful!

Lemonade.
The fresh-squeezed kind.
We absolutely love this, and keep it in the frig almost all summer long!

Recipe:
4 lemons
2 cups sugar
1 gallon sized container

Slice lemons very thinly, taking off ends and throwing away.

Put lemons and sugar in the gallon pitcher.

Taking your hands, squeeze lemons and sugar all together and until they are a sticky mess and it smells delightful. Do make sure your hands are freshly washed.

Let sit at least ten minutes, and up to a half hour. This helps the flavor be strong and sweet.

Mix with ice and water, fill to one gallon.

Sit on your front porch, or have a friend over, or just sip it alone. Delicious!

Note: be sure to take the lemons out of the lemonade before you refrigerate it. Leaving them in will result in a very bitter rind taste.

Also, if you’re trying to watch your sugar intake, you can cut the sugar to one cup and add 1/2 teaspoon stevia powder, and mix as directed. I personally don’t care for this as much, but it does still give you fresh lemonade if you can’t have much sugar. Or you could use only stevia and increase it to 1 teaspoon.

This is also just wonderful if you slice a few strawberries and let them float on top. It gives a sweet lemony strawberry flavor and colors it pink without much effort.

And this was a very short post, for once in my life. :)

Happy week and weekending to you all! We’re off to a fun-filled week – first time out of state all summer
[very rare for us!]. Time with my dad’s side of the family, that I rarely see with living so far south. Time with friends that we love so much. Time with a dear aunt and her family. Friendship is such a precious gift!
Excitement reigns high!

And we’re off!

~clarita

August 9, 2011March 7, 2013

I ♥ Salt Life

“I speak it to God: I don’t really want more time;
I just want enough time.
Time to breathe deep and time to see real and time to laugh long,
time to give You glory and rest deep and sing joy
and just enough time in a day
to not feel hounded, pressed, driven, or wild to get it done – yesterday…
To have the time to… go out to all air and sky and green
and time to wonder at all of them in this light,
this time reflecting prism…

“And this, this is the only way to slow time:
When I fully enter into time’s swift current,
enter into the current moment with the weight of all my attention,
I slow the torrent with the weight of me all here.
I can slow the torrent by being all here.
I can only live the full life when I live fully in the moment…”

[a. voskamp]

Time.
Something that every single person has been given the exact same amount of.
Some people have been given more riches than others.
Some has bigger houses, more expensive cars, things some might envy.
But time. We’ve all been given it equally.
The challenge is to live it fully.

Never before has time seemed to pass me so quickly.
Whether it’s that I’m actually much busier
or that having active children makes me feel busier
or that I overcommit myself, I’m not sure.
But this thing I know: I want to take the time to enjoy my time on earth.
Not flippantly, not selfishly, but intentionally.
Being purposeful about being a mother. Being purposeful about being a wife.
It seems the latter is harder to do these days.
Not because our relationship has grown stale – far from it! –
but because several children make it harder spend time just alone. Just the two of us.

Ben’s birthday was Saturday, and in keeping tradition,
I asked him what he’d like to do on his birthday.
That’s the main question around here:
What do you want to do?
Not, What do you want me to buy?
Of course, no one will deny a gift is lovely. Not ever!
But time together is what makes memories, not usually gifts.

He decided that a day on the ocean is what he’d want.
His mom and sisters so kindly agreed to keep the kiddos for the day, and we had us a date!
Thank you so much!! It was the best gift!

Time.
Time to slow down and enjoy the little moments with each other.
Time to live in the moment.

[google images]

August 6th fell on a Saturday. Perfect.
Taking off during a week day wouldn’t have been an option, so this was wonderful!
We could have celebrated later, but there’s something lovely about celebrating that very day.

We have a small boat that Ben purchased a few years ago.
A sheriff’s sale purchase. One his wife didn’t find out about until later. :)
Times have changed since then. :)
It was an actual sheriff’s boat to patrol the waters. ‘911’ is still faintly visible on the side.
One day we’ll paint it, but until then, it floats just fine. Nothing fancy, but it’s a boat.

Saturday morning found me packing chicken salad and salsa and chips and fruit.
It found Ben loading chairs and checking the engine and hauling an extra can of gas.
By late morning we were at the Jekyll dock, putting the boat in, and giddy with excitement. :)

[toward evening, when a storm was rolling in]

Living close to the coast has wonderful advantages.
We’re inland far enough that we don’t have the coastal breeze, resulting in great heat for months on end.
But down by the coast, there are islands, and sandy shores, and constant breezes.
And we were going to the coast!

On the way there, I was sort of laughing at all the “salt life” stickers on everyone’s back windows.
Basically, it means you love the coast and water and all that.
One thing about the south: what one person does, many many people do.
I was laughing because I like to be more original:
if someone else does it, that’s usually reason enough to not do it!
Remember this little tidbit…

There are quite a few islands closeby.
The larger ones are more well-known from Eugenia Price’s books: St. Simons, Jekyll, Tybee…
and then there are some smaller ones, more unknown.
Quite a few not even accessible by land/bridge/car, only by boat.
The private islands and islands only water-accessible I’d never been to.
Since Ben has had a lot of work [construction] over on two of them throughout the past year,
that’s where we headed.

[shore line hardly visible off in the distance: first destination]

[same short line, the sandy outline a bit more clear]

A hundred memories flooded my mind as the breeze from the speed of the boat
and the salt water hit my face. I spent four years in Belize as a young child,
and lived in a remote location that had no roads connecting.
All our transportation was river and ocean for several hours by dug-out canoe to the closest town.
I remember traveling with my dad as a little girl, and how exciting it was.

[for a minute I thought I was on a tropical island, but the pine trees brought me back to reality :)]

As Ben crossed the sound, where the water from the rivers meet the ocean,
there were bigger waves, spraying salt water, and the boat felt like it lifted off the water.
There was just a hint of danger, a thrill of adventure.
So many places on earth man has tried to tame, but the ocean, never.
It’s wild, and untamed, and it will always be so.

[the second island we came to, and spend most of our time at]

[finding conch shells to take back for the girls]

So what did we do all day?
Well, we took fishing poles and [tried to] fish, but there was nary a nibble or bite all day.
I think it was too hot.
But it was great fun anyway, stopping sometimes to cast and fish a spot along the marsh,
or trolling the motor and letting our lines out the back.

We rode along the IntraCoastal Waterway most of the time, rather than far out in the ocean.
Our boat was fairly small, and to go out too far is rather scary [to me]. :)

We stopped once, and watched a group [pod? school?] of dolphins played all around our boat.
They are such graceful sea creatures, and always look like they’re smiling.
Also, it’s comforting that when dolphins are near, sharks are not.

See, the Georgia coast has the largest shark breeding ground of anywhere along the east coast.
Yep. And it’s been reported that Great Whites have even been seen off the coast a ways.
Okay, a long ways. But still!!
And almost everytime we’ve gone fishing along the coast, we pull in sharks.
Small sharks, only several feel in length, but still… SHARKS!

So even though I just love the water,
and would have loved to jump overboard the boat to cool off,
I didn’t.
Call me chicken, I know, because shark attacks are very very rare.
But I’m just afraid I’ll be the one they pick for their rare percentage,
since mosquitoes pick me over everyone else all the time. :)
So, I just wade. It’s ridiculous, I know, but what can I say?
I’m not scared of much, but I AM scared of sharks. :)

So, instead of jumping overboard into the ocean, we went exploring on one of the islands.
I would have loved to go island to see the remains of this amaaaazing mansion…

[Carnegie Mansion]

[Brown’s Guide to Georgia]

All the building supplies were taken by ship to the island, and then built.
There was no road/bridge then or now.

It was burned, it’s thought by arson, and now it’s in ruins.
But even the ruins look amazing.
I think ‘photo shoot’ when I see these pictures!

[photo courtesy of holtwebb.blogspot.com]

But the mansion is inland too far, and we had no bikes or transportation to get there.
One day. :)

But instead we just explored along the coast.
Pulled our boat onto the shore, and jumped on the sand.

There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of these little fiddler crabs racing along the shore.

Eugenia Price made famous the Spanish moss and magical lighting of the islands.
It really is breathtaking!

There are a few palm trees. :) Mostly pine and live oaks that must be hundreds of years old.

It must have not rained for a long time, or else the ferns on the branches would be vibrant green.

When we walked inland, there was a real “wild” feel to it.

I told Ben I feel like Robinson Crusoe! I love a bit of adventure, and this day was full of it!
But much more fun than Crusoe must have had, because I had my best friend with me!

It felt as though we must have been the first people to ever be there,
even though there were traces of other human visitors before us.

There are wild horses on the island, from when the mansion was occupied and there were working plantations.
We saw signs of them too, but sadly, nothing other than their “discard piles.”

Our trek to the interior didn’t go too far, because it’s so wild and tangled.
Plus, it’s infested with chiggers, a souvenir we did not want to come away with.

This tree was laying completely sideways at the edge of the water,
fully alive because its roots got water! So amazing and strange!

I think the coastline must have extended much further at some point, because there are so many trees on “stilts”.

After several hours out, we heard thunder rumbling in the distance,
and even though we couldn’t see storm clouds, we both knew they can roll in fast.
And we did not want to cross the sound in any higher waves then we did before!

We headed back to shore around 5pm, and as we were docking, this is what was coming:

Thankfully, we missed the storm and even the wind before it became too gusty and dangerous.

But it was a lovely day, and a thousand lovely memories to last us past the day!
We felt like two young kids, carefree and enjoying every minute
of our day together.
It was Ben’s birthday, and I told him several times I shouldn’t be having so much fun on his day!
All smiles, he said it was his best birthday ever. :)

We said we could get addicted to days out on the ocean. :)
Perhaps we’ll have to make it a yearly tradition, on his birthday…

And by the end, I was telling Ben,
“You know, maybe we should buy one of those ‘salt life’ stickers….” :)

“I can only live the full life when I live fully in the moment.”
[a. voskamp]

~clarita

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