mothers day 2013

 

My kids and husband made my Mother’s Day so sweet yesterday.

It began with Kyle instructing me to stay in bed while he got up with the kids. I gladly complied and read all kinds of things in the quiet while he, Jack and Taylor made happy surprises. About an hour later, they burst into my room with cries of “Happy Muver’s Day!” and kisses and hugs aplenty.

Kyle had helped them make a card for me, and Kyle also wrote me a sweet note. Jack and Taylor gave me a gift card for Starbucks, and Kyle found a beautiful and unique magazine for me and gave me a subscription. It’s really unique and lovely – I can’t wait to delve into the pages.

For breakfast, the kids and Kyle made puffy dutch pancake and yogurt/berry parfaits, which we all heartily enjoyed. Then it was time to get ready for church – baths and showers and hair combed and clothes on and teeth brushed. And coleslaw made to take to the in-laws later in the day.

Church was so pleasant and good. Wonderful worship and a great sermon. After church, we ate lunch at Culver’s – they were giving mom’s a free sundae, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The kids devoured their cheeseburgers and an older couple complimented us on the kids and our “sweet family”. Hooray for manners in public! haha.

We made the trek down to Farmington to spend the rest of the day with Kyle’s family. (My mom and I had celebrated together on Friday because she and my dad were gone for the weekend.) It’s so fun when his whole family is able to be together and it had been MONTHS since we all were able to be there, so it was extra special.

The dinner of kebabs on the grill was a big hit and Jack loved playing golf outside with his dad, Grandpa Rick and Uncle Daniel (who, for some reason, was called simply Uncle by Jack all day, haha). Taylor couldn’t get enough of the swing and trampoline – we all are so glad to be outside whenever the weather is nice, which is far more often now, thank goodness.

As we drove home, I thought about the day, my sweet kids who have made me a mom, the wonderful mothers who have gone before and shaped my mothering, the amazing women who are on this journey of motherhood with me now, the women I know that long to be mothers, and the kind of mom I want to be for my kids in the future. Lots of thoughts. Lots of joy. Lots of grace needed.

A very happy mother’s day indeed.

currently 9.0

current reading material: I just finished Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (loved it), Fit to Burst by Rachel Jankovich (great one!) and Power through Prayer by E.M. Bounds (hard to get into, but very good points about prayer to take to heart). Since my last currently post, I’ve been PLOWING through my reading list and a couple extras not on the list too. It’s as if I opened the floodgates and remembered how much I love books/learning/reading again. I love it.

In March and April I also read Bonhoeffer, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Speaking from Among the Bones, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, and The Book Thief.

Kind of majored on WWII and post-WWII stories there for a bit! I was a total mess at the end of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bonhoeffer and The Book Thief. Darn stories about concentration camps and war atrocities.

current songs o’ delight: “Your Great Name” by Natalie Grant (love harmonizing this one!)

current projects: I did a little more writing for Wine Table, which may turn into a regular gig (very happy about that!). This time I wrote about pairing wines with kids’ lunch options. Grown up drinks for the moms and dads that match the food you’re already preparing for the small people.

Oh yes, and there’s also the growing a human thing I’m working on. We found out about a month ago that we’ve been blessed with a tiny surprise that is due late this year. Probably in late November. This has put a little kink in the adoption proceedings, but we still are in the process of finishing our home study (due to some delay’s on our agency’s side) and hope to keep moving forward toward a child that needs a family. Possibly state-side now and Africa later.

current recipes I’ve tried: I’ve been baking a lot recently – its therapeutic for me. Downside is then someone has to eat it. I haven’t tried a bunch of new recipes, mostly just ones that are favorites. I did try a new blueberry orange muffin recipe and found them to be delicious!

Blueberry Orange Muffins 

I have a few things marked to try soon:

Espresso Mini-Muffins with Chocolate Ganache – who doesn’t love coffee and chocolate? I’m hosting a wedding shower for my childhood bestie on Saturday, and these will definitely be making an appearance.

Baked Egg Tartlets – oh yum. eggs in a pastry crust? Yes. Please.

current hair color: still dark-reddish brown. I’d love to get some highlights soon.

current events:

1. SPRING! finally. Oh my word, this was quite possibly the longest winter ever. Having small children has not made my love for winter increase. So you better believe we’ve been soaking up the warm days and even enjoying the cooler days of this yo-yo spring weather. Got sunburns a couple weeks ago and then have endured chilly rain this past week, but tomorrow’s high is 88 and the rest of the week is projected to be in the 70′s. I’ll gladly take it!

The trees have all burst into bud and bloom in the past week and tulips and daffodils are up and blooming. My heart just soaks up the joy of the color green after the drab, grey, monochrome winter.

2. celebrated Mother’s Day. My sweet husband made it such a special day. He helped the kids make a card for me, made breakfast and ordered me to lounge in bed until it was all ready. Then we enjoyed church together, lunch at Culvers (free sundae for this mom!), and the rest of the day with Kyle’s family at his parent’s home. Such a lovely time!

2. Fostering. Last week we had back-to-back respite placements for ten days in a row. Shew! Wore me plum out, what with the first trimester of pregnancy and two more, then one more kid than usual. But it was good. Helped us formulate some more ideas about the right kind of placements for our family at this stage. And I’m super excited that one of the kids will be joined with their forever family soon. SUCH happy news.

upcoming events:

1. A wedding shower for my dear friend, Whitney. I love throwing parties. Very much.

2. My birthday is only a month-ish away!

current photos:

first bonfire of the season = sticky s’more girl

Jack was so excited to go to our friend’s cabin for a weekend with Kyle. He and Josiah had a blast in the woods!

foto friday

our family on Easter (because I haven’t posted this enough places on the Internet yet)

{thanks to my lovely sister-in-law, Sarah for snapping the picture.}

out of the mouth of jack 4.0

You know your kid is a Minnesotan when you’re outside on one of the first 40 degree days of the season and he exclaims, “Mom! It’s so warm, it’s like the desert!” (In his defense – there was no wind, LOL.)

“Oh no! this is TERRIBLE!” (I think he got that from Daniel Tiger, but I’m not sure…and I can’t remember what it was in reference to.)

Jack was putting on his jammies and got his head stuck in the shirt. When he got out, he said “goodness snakes!”

The other day I took him to the library for a special preschool reading time because Curious George (stuffed costumed person version) was there. They read two CR books and then the kids could get their picture taken with George. In the car on the way home Jackson totally made my day by saying, “Mom, it made me really happy to take a picture with Curious George, because I really yike him.”

help another adopting family

along this journey, I’ve come across a whole host of wonderful families pursuing the same thing we are: Adoption. Whether from across the world or across the street, there are some amazing people out there wanting to bring joy and hope to the lives of children that don’t have families that love them and want to care for them.

One such family: the Wallaces. They have been on a long and winding road to the place where they now find themselves. Today they are featured on a great blog/ministry: Give One Save One: Africa. It helps fund adoptions for the people, by the people in $1 donation increments. (Of course you can give more! But $1 – we ALL could donate $1!)

I’d love for you to watch the Wallace’s story and join me in supporting their effort to adopt their Glory girl. Share the love!  

currently 8.0

crazy. It’s been a year since my last post of this kind. I’m going to shoot for once a month from here on out. I’d love to hear what you’re currently doing in any of these categories too!

current reading material: Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl by ND Wilson – “wide eyed wonder in God’s spoken world” sums it up well.

I’ve just loved it. The whole book reminded me of how John Piper described C.S. Lewis’ “omnivorous attentiveness” to the world around him. Wilson really SEES the wonder of the Creator, the comedy, the tragedy, and the story of His grace at work in the world.

And if I could write half as well as any of the Wilson progeny, I would be a very happy girl. JEEZ.

 

Next up: Bonhoeffer and something lighter…probably the first Peter and the Starcatchers book by Dave Barry.

  

current songs o’ delight: I heard (and sang) this beautiful Sovereign Grace song “Behold Our God” for the first time two weeks ago. It’s been singing in my heart and mind ever since. I really love it.

And in the sweet and charming category, I’m crushing on JJ Heller. (and I get to see her in concert in a couple weeks – woot!)

current projects: I’ve been doing a bunch of writing for WineTable.com in the past couple weeks. Since I really like wine and I like to write, it’s been a happy marriage.

and beyond that, the whole feeding/clothing/loving kids, loving/spending time with husband, and keeping up with friends and family thing has kept me uber busy.

current recipes I’ve tried: having just finished my second Whole30, I’ve not really been trying a ton of new recipes this past month. But this avocado chocolate pudding is pretty amazing. The first time I made it Kyle could NOT believe I’d managed to sneak avocados into him. It’s smooth, rich, slightly sweet and chocolate-y to the max. YUM.

And the other day, Jackson and I made our family favorite “puffy pancakes” in a cute muffin tin version instead of a huge single skillet size. The kids loved them and they didn’t make a total wreck of my muffin tins like I imagined. Spray them well.

Finally – you have GOT to make these incredible chocolate chip cookies. My friend Elise makes them and kindly brings them to our small group on a regular basis. They are, seriously, the BEST CCC’s I’ve ever had. Secret ingredient? Cornstarch. WHAAA? I know. It’s weird, but it is a game-changer.

current hair color: dark reddish brown. But I’m looking forward to going lighter as soon as the weather warms up a bit! (this was last week on fabulous family day @ Coffee Talk.)

current events:

1. a week and a half ago, Kyle and I enjoyed the Bonhoeffer Tour with Eric Metaxas. Now I’ve REALLY got to finish the book (I started it just after it came out and got about three chapters in). Metaxas is hilariously witty, quick as a whip and so very easy to listen to. He was all business when it came to sharing about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer though. And the Q & A with John Piper after the lecture was fabulous too. Very thought provoking. There’s not quite enough thought provocation going on in my life these days.

2. Fostering. Another placement for us! This time, we’re enjoying an older “sibling” – an eleven year old girl. She’s a sweetheart and we get to have her stay until next Monday, when her current foster parents return from their vacation.

3. Adoption training. We went to a great training on Saturday for our agency. Lots to process and think about, but it was really helpful information.

upcoming events:

1. Escape to Green Bay! In a couple weeks, Kyle is whisking me away for a couple days in Green Bay and Appleton, WI. We’re going to stay in a B&B (always my favorite accommodation option) and see JJ Heller in concert at a fun venue. I want to tour Lambeau Field too, just for kicks. It will probably be the only time I ever darken its doors, LOL.

2. I’m really looking forward to Easter. I am, of course, plotting cute outfits for the kids and keeping an eye out for a fresh, fun spring dress for me! Suggestions?

current photos:

Just finished another fun StyleMe Challenge with my Betty friends! It sure helps me get out of my frump funks and think positively about what’s in my closet. I’m not gonna lie though – I’m READY FOR SPRING. My peep toes and bare leg looks are dying to be set free from the boots and pants o’ winter. These were some of my favorite looks from the past month:

 

oh blog

I am not sure where my bloggy self has gone, but she’s been missing for awhile now. Some of it I attribute to motherhood – when I have six minutes of time to myself I don’t usually write. Heck, when I have 60 minutes to myself, I don’t usually write.

But I really want to get back to it.

So here goes nothing.

So far, 2013 has been pretty great. Lots of snow. Much more than last winter. It’s snowing today. But I can tell that winter’s grip is loosening on our fair state. It won’t be too much longer before the big meltdown happens and the green shoots of spring will appear. YES.

I’ve traveled to another state every month this year: January was North Carolina and February was a quick road trip to Missouri. Later this month, Kyle and I will go to Green Bay, WI to see JJ Heller in concert and have a weekend away. I’m stoked. It’s been awhile since we escaped together.

We FINALLY attended our adoption agency orientation last week. One more step taken toward welcoming home our child(ren). Many, many more steps to go.

As we complete each step, we’ll fill in another section of our map until the exciting last step of traveling home with our child(ren) in our arms.

This week we have an extra kid in our family as we accepted another foster care placement for a short-term stay. “Sweets” (not her real name) is an 11 year old girl and we’re very happy to have her until her foster parents return next week. It’s fun for our kids to have a “big sister” for a bit.

And now I’m going to bake some cookies for us all. It’s been more than a month since I baked – I’ve been totally going through baking withdrawal! But Whole30 was a good idea again. Glad I did it and glad to be done.

Here’s to more blog posts this week!