Its Saturday and Drew has left to help someone move. All three of the kids are sleeping. A rare, and beautiful moment. After a week of fighting with a little boy who seems to have suddenly decided that he no longer needs to nap. I disagree as I'm not yet ready for him to no longer nap. And so at this moment I'm going to soak it up. This time of silence, it has become so rare in this house. I know that someday I'll miss the bustle of a busy house but right now, at this moment it is beautiful.
This week i have gotten out my ipod and have loaded it with some sermons from Tim Keller. My devotion time has been full of interruptions lately and i'm feeling that I have been missing this time to learn and grow. I put in my earbuds and listened while I tidied. I dusted and agreed with the words that i was hearing. I put dishes away as I was being reminded of what it meant to be an adopted child of God, of seeing Him as He is. I swept while being encouraged to live my life with my eyes to Heaven. Being reminded of what was important. That some day we will be in our perfect bodies, "the grace of our youth, the strength of our middle years and the wisdom of our age will all be wrapped together...." (Tim Keller) I picked up baby toys and was told that in all I do, as great as the things i have now are nothing compared to what we will have when we see Him as He is. And I was refreshed. Re-energized, reminded that my calling as a Christian does not stop, that I am HIS child. It is not a fickle thing in which I can pick up when I want. It is forever, for always.
Its a challenge to live for Him in a world that has grown so selfish with want and desire. In a world that has forgotten that children are a blessing, that families are meant to work together. In a broken world so full of sin and discontentment. I forget and am sometimes swept along with the longing of things. And then, I am reminded and renewed, that these things are not forever, they are only a fraction of what is in store for us. Our hope is in Him.
How glorious to know that this life is simply a poor reflection of what is to come. And by HIS grace I have been called, to show His love to those around me. To the little ones He has placed in my care, to the neighbors that are placed around us, to those who do not know Him. It is the calling of a Christian, to show in our words, in or actions what it means to be His child.
I John 3:1-3 "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies Himself, just as He is pure.""
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Friendships and Photography
I'm rather brain dead from spending a morning at a beach (hard life...) swimming and watching kids build sandcastles, and thought I'd post the pictures I've been saving for such a day as this.
A close friend of mine is a rather exceptionally talented photographer. In highschool we were art buddies and spent hours painting, drawing and taking pictures. When Maddie was born she came over and spent a day helping, and set up my living room for a newborn photo shoot. Three of my friends all took a day, timed it for when Drew had to go back to work. Between them and family who helped out I'm convinced that the 6 week recovery time for a c-section took only 3.5, even my doctor had been amazed at how quickly I healed considering i had three kids at home.
Tamsen - thanks for these pictures! I love them, I still tear up when I look at them for you caught the newborn Maddie perfectly! Steff, Robin and Tam - thanks again for helping out so much when she was born! Its pretty awesome when your so comfortable with your friends that you can lay on a couch in jogging pants sipping tea while they clean and cook:) We're so close in fact that my one friend knew to bring her own pot with her as she knew that i had broken most of mine, my other friend made my bed cause she knows that I love how she makes her bed and the other one cleaned my bathrooms and I didn't even mind!!! thats friendship and love! in fact, i'm waiting for one of you to have another one so I can come over and cook and clean:)
Back to photography....seriously, you should check out her blog. She does some pretty awesome stuff! www.creativeclicksphotography.com. I don't know which one is my favorite. I love them all.
And now I must get out of the beach mode of relaxing and get to work:)
A close friend of mine is a rather exceptionally talented photographer. In highschool we were art buddies and spent hours painting, drawing and taking pictures. When Maddie was born she came over and spent a day helping, and set up my living room for a newborn photo shoot. Three of my friends all took a day, timed it for when Drew had to go back to work. Between them and family who helped out I'm convinced that the 6 week recovery time for a c-section took only 3.5, even my doctor had been amazed at how quickly I healed considering i had three kids at home.
Tamsen - thanks for these pictures! I love them, I still tear up when I look at them for you caught the newborn Maddie perfectly! Steff, Robin and Tam - thanks again for helping out so much when she was born! Its pretty awesome when your so comfortable with your friends that you can lay on a couch in jogging pants sipping tea while they clean and cook:) We're so close in fact that my one friend knew to bring her own pot with her as she knew that i had broken most of mine, my other friend made my bed cause she knows that I love how she makes her bed and the other one cleaned my bathrooms and I didn't even mind!!! thats friendship and love! in fact, i'm waiting for one of you to have another one so I can come over and cook and clean:)
Back to photography....seriously, you should check out her blog. She does some pretty awesome stuff! www.creativeclicksphotography.com. I don't know which one is my favorite. I love them all.
And now I must get out of the beach mode of relaxing and get to work:)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Firecracker
There is an ongoing battle of wills in our household. He goes by the name Jacob. If you are interested in knowing what it is like to parent a strong willed boy please feel free to borrow him. I promise he will make you laugh, make you want to cry and make you want to pull your hair out. I found grey hair the other day, its has Jacob all over it. He is a ticking time bomb. Tantrums have become common, yelling and screaming is not an "if" its a "when". I can often be found walking out of stores, or away from parks with a 2.5 year old roaring like a lion behind me. But oh how i love him.
And this morning my Mom took care of Maddie, so I could take the other two to the splash pad. And because she could hear his screaming when I dropped Maddie off and saw the tears when I picked Maddie up, she sent me these two pictures. She always takes great pics of the kids.
The Lord has placed these three perfectly in order, He knew the balance that was needed in this family. And I am thankful, thankful that this sweet little girl fits in so perfectly. The Lord has placed in our care three very different children. The road of parenting is proving a tad more difficult than before we actually had kids and we thought we knew everything :) You know, when your talking of kids and noticing how everyone else around you parents. And before these children are born you think you know what you will do and what you will not do. I've learned to be careful in judging. For I am now the Mom with the child screaming and hitting the floor with hands and feet during a routine grocery trip.
But for now, in the midst of the tempers there is a little girl who is quite content to look up at you and smile, and for that I am very thankful.
And this morning my Mom took care of Maddie, so I could take the other two to the splash pad. And because she could hear his screaming when I dropped Maddie off and saw the tears when I picked Maddie up, she sent me these two pictures. She always takes great pics of the kids.
The Lord has placed these three perfectly in order, He knew the balance that was needed in this family. And I am thankful, thankful that this sweet little girl fits in so perfectly. The Lord has placed in our care three very different children. The road of parenting is proving a tad more difficult than before we actually had kids and we thought we knew everything :) You know, when your talking of kids and noticing how everyone else around you parents. And before these children are born you think you know what you will do and what you will not do. I've learned to be careful in judging. For I am now the Mom with the child screaming and hitting the floor with hands and feet during a routine grocery trip.
But for now, in the midst of the tempers there is a little girl who is quite content to look up at you and smile, and for that I am very thankful.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Meals for Others
I love cooking. I love baking. Making meals for others doesn't cause me to be anxious or makes me lay awake at night. Its simply one huge benefit of being at home, I have the time to do this. I get asked a lot for suggestions on making meals for others. I'm on the care committee at our church and so I'm often cooking extra. I've learned that the more you cook for others the better you get at it. So, I'm going to attempt to share some ideas that have worked well. Two things i've learned the hard way.
1. Do NOT try something new, use only meals that you have made before. You'll thank me...
2. Do NOT get too complicated and too expensive. Otherwise you're family will be stuck eating cheerios for dinner for the next three nights. The kids will love this, your husband probably won't.
A good friend just had a baby girl. I called her and found out she has received pasta but that chicken enchiladas sounded wonderful. Normally I split a dinner, so its enough for them and us. My friends husband however is at the peek of his busy season, so he's not home until late. So this time I won't share it and she can freeze half for another night.
I bought chicken on sale (yaa!) so 4 will be taken for this meal, one will be frozen in a ziplock bag for another night.
Start with 3 cups of chicken broth and half an onion, some dashes of oregano and a sprinkle of pepper. Wait until it bubbles then add 4 chicken breasts. We're going to poach the chicken in the broth. Cover with a lid and let simmer for 10 min. If you forget about and its more like 20 min, thats okay. Cut up one red and one green pepper. Pour half into the simmering broth, keep half for a topping for later.
You need a can of tomato sauce, grate a zucchini, mix it in. I hide veggies in sauces. Feel free to grate carrots as well, you can't tell once its been cooked through. I sprinkled a bit of cinnamon in the sauce. Never done that before but I saw it in a recipe somewhere and it did add a really nice flavour! Let the sauce warm, sprinkle in your favorite tomato sauce additions (chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, whatever smells like it would be good:)
Go check facebook, these two pots can simmer for awhile. Or go and discover that you think a 2 year old got into your contact case as one contact is missing. However you don't know for sure because you were really tired last night and you might have thought you put your contact back but there is a slight chance you dropped it without noticing. Sigh....
When the chicken is cooked, pull it out and let cool. Once the chicken has cooled shred it apart with two forks. Stir in 2 Tbsp of tomato paste and 1/2 cup of the broth liquid.
Grab some whole wheat tortilla's and spoon generous amounts of the chicken mixture on them. Pour about 1/3 of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 pan, just enough to cover the dish. Place the rolled up tortilla's seam down on the sauce.
Like this.
Now you pour the remaining tomato sauce one the tortilla's and smother in cheese. Drew can always tell when the meal isn't for us, I'm far more generous with the fillings and the toppings:) Sprinkle the remaining green and red pepper. Cover in tin foil and voila. You can either bake it at 350 for about 20 min and bring it hot or you can bring as is and get them to do that. I always try to make the food in the morning so I can drop it off in the early afternoon. At the stage we're in, dinner time is not a good time to bring a meal. I tried that once, I think I cried. I mixed a quick spinach salad with this one, added some mushroom, onion and strawberries. I had some zucchini bread as well that I sliced and added.
Normally this would be made into two smaller meals. And I broke my one rule as this is a different variation from the recipe I normally make, as I look back at the chicken filling I wonder if it will be a bit bland, but its a friend who already knows that I'm normally a good cook, so I'm not too worried. If it was for a family I didn't know I would have tried it first. Enjoy!
1. Do NOT try something new, use only meals that you have made before. You'll thank me...
2. Do NOT get too complicated and too expensive. Otherwise you're family will be stuck eating cheerios for dinner for the next three nights. The kids will love this, your husband probably won't.
A good friend just had a baby girl. I called her and found out she has received pasta but that chicken enchiladas sounded wonderful. Normally I split a dinner, so its enough for them and us. My friends husband however is at the peek of his busy season, so he's not home until late. So this time I won't share it and she can freeze half for another night.
I bought chicken on sale (yaa!) so 4 will be taken for this meal, one will be frozen in a ziplock bag for another night.
Start with 3 cups of chicken broth and half an onion, some dashes of oregano and a sprinkle of pepper. Wait until it bubbles then add 4 chicken breasts. We're going to poach the chicken in the broth. Cover with a lid and let simmer for 10 min. If you forget about and its more like 20 min, thats okay. Cut up one red and one green pepper. Pour half into the simmering broth, keep half for a topping for later.
You need a can of tomato sauce, grate a zucchini, mix it in. I hide veggies in sauces. Feel free to grate carrots as well, you can't tell once its been cooked through. I sprinkled a bit of cinnamon in the sauce. Never done that before but I saw it in a recipe somewhere and it did add a really nice flavour! Let the sauce warm, sprinkle in your favorite tomato sauce additions (chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, whatever smells like it would be good:)
Go check facebook, these two pots can simmer for awhile. Or go and discover that you think a 2 year old got into your contact case as one contact is missing. However you don't know for sure because you were really tired last night and you might have thought you put your contact back but there is a slight chance you dropped it without noticing. Sigh....
When the chicken is cooked, pull it out and let cool. Once the chicken has cooled shred it apart with two forks. Stir in 2 Tbsp of tomato paste and 1/2 cup of the broth liquid.
Grab some whole wheat tortilla's and spoon generous amounts of the chicken mixture on them. Pour about 1/3 of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 pan, just enough to cover the dish. Place the rolled up tortilla's seam down on the sauce.
Like this.
Now you pour the remaining tomato sauce one the tortilla's and smother in cheese. Drew can always tell when the meal isn't for us, I'm far more generous with the fillings and the toppings:) Sprinkle the remaining green and red pepper. Cover in tin foil and voila. You can either bake it at 350 for about 20 min and bring it hot or you can bring as is and get them to do that. I always try to make the food in the morning so I can drop it off in the early afternoon. At the stage we're in, dinner time is not a good time to bring a meal. I tried that once, I think I cried. I mixed a quick spinach salad with this one, added some mushroom, onion and strawberries. I had some zucchini bread as well that I sliced and added.
Normally this would be made into two smaller meals. And I broke my one rule as this is a different variation from the recipe I normally make, as I look back at the chicken filling I wonder if it will be a bit bland, but its a friend who already knows that I'm normally a good cook, so I'm not too worried. If it was for a family I didn't know I would have tried it first. Enjoy!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
room sharing
i''ve hit the 'when my head hits the pillow I hear nothing stage'. i'm blissfully unaware when I wake up of the interruptions in the night. It would seem that Drew and I are used to this. We don't plan it, it just happens, three babies in a row. For the first half year I'm on wake-up duty, I hear a cry and I spring out of bed for a feed, a diaper change, a rocking session. For the first 5 months Maddie would be up 6-8 times at night. Now she's in bed by 7:00 and sleeps until 6:00ish. Waking up once for a soother. And Drew's the one getting out of bed, and I sleep. This morning I stretched and yawned and commented on how wonderful it was that the kids are sleeping so well. He remained quiet and held up 4 fingers....Jacob twice and Maddie twice. He did that to me once when one of the kids were small, I hit him with a pillow.
Can you believe that this picture is from 5 months ago???
Maddie was this small.
and now she's this big! and she SLEEPS!!!!
and that means I'm feeling energized enough to start thinking of projects to do. Like finally painting the basement and covering the horrid green. But first we're moving the girls into one room and giving Jacob his own. A bit different than the plan 6 months ago in which the younger two would share and Kaylin would have some space to herself. It would seem that we misread these two. Kaylin has no desire for her own room, her space is quite simply at the kitchen table, in the midst of the noise and the bustle of every day life. She crafts there, colours and sings and plays. Completely oblivious to anything around her. Jacob however is miserable and giving us a difficult time. Kaylin was at VBS this week and every morning he went to their room, shut the door and played quietly. Kaylin is excited about having Maddie with her, Jacob doesn't understand yet, and I'm glad that it took me so long to decorate their room!
Can you believe that this picture is from 5 months ago???
Maddie was this small.
and now she's this big! and she SLEEPS!!!!
and that means I'm feeling energized enough to start thinking of projects to do. Like finally painting the basement and covering the horrid green. But first we're moving the girls into one room and giving Jacob his own. A bit different than the plan 6 months ago in which the younger two would share and Kaylin would have some space to herself. It would seem that we misread these two. Kaylin has no desire for her own room, her space is quite simply at the kitchen table, in the midst of the noise and the bustle of every day life. She crafts there, colours and sings and plays. Completely oblivious to anything around her. Jacob however is miserable and giving us a difficult time. Kaylin was at VBS this week and every morning he went to their room, shut the door and played quietly. Kaylin is excited about having Maddie with her, Jacob doesn't understand yet, and I'm glad that it took me so long to decorate their room!
No room on the bed
This was what greeted us when we checked on the kids before crawling into our own bed.
When we pulled back his sheets to tuck him in, we saw his trains, lined up and sound asleep in the bed meant for a little boy.
Precious memories!
When we pulled back his sheets to tuck him in, we saw his trains, lined up and sound asleep in the bed meant for a little boy.
Precious memories!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Time
We had a busy weekend, a full weekend. A time to enjoy company and fellowship with friends, a time for kids to run and play. This resulted into a miserable Monday of kids trying to recover from fun, late nights. And now its Thursday. And this morning my Mom joined me and the kids for a walk along the lake, for time to play at the park. Time for just me and the kids and Grandma to spend time together. I'm learning that this is important. That when the self-pity creeps in, its time to stop the cleaning and the day to day mothering and take the kids and just be. To watch the ducks and the boats and the trains. To not just go to the same park but to explore. For self-pity can so easily give a foothold to the Devil. Its easy to wallow, in the endless cleaning, the long days, the weeds that are winning our ongoing battle, there is always something that needs to be done. I'm slowly learning that when the self-pity creep in its time to step back and remember the creation around us that the LORD has made, to enjoy and be thankful. To just be a mom without a million things on the go. And when we came back home the daunting tasks of earlier became more manageable.
The little ones are sleeping deeply. They feel the atmosphere change probably even more than i do. Somehow the complaints and crying seem to grate a little less than they did yesterday.
And next time I will bring my camera. But for now, I have some from a recent bbq.
The little ones are sleeping deeply. They feel the atmosphere change probably even more than i do. Somehow the complaints and crying seem to grate a little less than they did yesterday.
And next time I will bring my camera. But for now, I have some from a recent bbq.
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