Celebrating Spring Flowers

We are finally seeing some spring flowers on the gravelly road after all the showers recently. 

 

 

The apple trees are full of blossoms.

 

Of course the grass is full of lovely dandelions as well.

 

 

I love the beauty of many small flowers blooming together.  It reminds me that God created us to live in community, to bloom where we're planted, to encourage and learn from others blooming alongside us. 

 

All too often I hear the whispers of society to strive to be a single, unique rose with thorns to keep other from getting too close.  Then I remember the apple tree blossoms.  They are small, simple yet beautiful, and with the help of hard working bees along with the rest of the tree produce a crop of fruit that a single rose cannot compare with (in my opinion).

 

I'm so thankful for the beauty of our surroundings that help me slow down and ponder...



Dollhouse Project

Last fall my husband was browsing his favorite woodworking site and stumbled up on some very nice dollhouse kits, the kind with about 2 gazillion pieces that have to be painted and assembled, OK maybe I'm exaggerating a bit...  Anyway, he decided it would be a great project for the winter and ordered one. 

He and my son started it late fall and got the "guts" of the house put together.  Then we started working on Christmas projects and the dollhouse was set aside. 

Somewhere along the way, it was decided the dollhouse should be one of our nieces (and eventually her younger sister), since my husband had been making wooden trucks the last few years for the nephews.  That gave us a deadline -- mid-May.

For about the last month or so, the dollhouse has been our family project, several weekends, quite a few evenings, just barely getting done before the birthday party last weekend.  (OK I admit we skipped some details because there just wasn't time).  Since it was such a big family undertaking I wanted to share some pictures of the process here (and celebrate that it got done).

These pictures were from the first weekend of work on the dollhouse when we started back on the project in April.  Our son loved that there was almost always a painting job that he could do :)

More progress, a little at a time.  Eventually the house had siding added, roof, shingles, shutters and lots of other fun details.  I even made some furniture for some of the rooms.

Before we gave the dollhouse to the birthday girl, our son tested it out with his army guys.  He had so much fun trying out the furniture, especially the pillows I'd made for the beds.  His army guys apparently like to have pillow fights.

 

 

It was a big hit with the birthday girl (and most of the kids that day).

It's Official: We're Still Waiting

About a year ago we shared that we were officially waiting --  we'd completed all our adoption paperwork, interviews, profile creating, etc and were officially listed as a waiting family with the adoption agency we're working with.

This morning I found out from our social worker that our homestudy renewal has been approved.  Basically it means everything is in order for us to continue to wait...

I've almost finished updating our online profile.  Hopefully it will be updated on the site later this week or early next.  I also need to update our website and our profile book, mostly just updating pictures.  If this rainy week continues, I should have plenty of time to get some of that done :)

Please feel free to share our profile or the fact that we are hoping to adopt.  You never know if a friend of a friend knows of someone wanting to make an adoption plan for their child.

Please also continue to keep our family in your prayers.  Waiting is hard.  So are the days when we know our profile is being shown.  So are the emails asking for decisions on if we want our profile shown in particular situations.  But mostly its just the not knowing, the need to keep moving forward when it feels like it would be easier to put everything on hold. 

I'm certain when the little one God's planned to bring to our family is placed in our arms, all the waiting will just melt away :)

Five Minute Fridays: Song

Another week of participating in Five Minute Fridays hosted by Lisa-Jo Baker, encouraging bloggers to write on a prompt unedited for five minutes.  This weeks prompt is Song.

GO

He loves to sing, just about any song, real or made up.  I love hearing his little boy voice belting out his favorites, with some interesting interpretations of the lyrics at times.  I also love how much he loves his favorite song.

It is not on the list of standard kids songs.  I heard it first last fall when a blue grass group led worship at church.  My son was at Grandma's and I knew it was a song he'd like (it was about animals - how can you go wrong?).  When he got home, I found it online. 

He loved it.  I mean really loved it.  Memorized it quickly and sang it all the time.  For a while it was what he wanted to pray at meals, sing to friends, and the most requested thing to do on my computer -- listen to his song.  He's tried to teach it to his friends.  He's even tried to teach it to the chickens.  Most of the time he sings it so fast that you can barely catch the words. But I know them.  I hear them. 

This song that is being written on my son's heart and mind celebrates God's creation.  It celebrates differences.  It reminds him that everyone has a song to sing, a way to praise, a unique way to join in God's choir.  Many times its something I need to be reminded of too.

So I sing along.

 

"All God's creatures got a place in the choir.

Some sing low and some sing higher. 

Some sing out loud on the telephone wire. 

Some just clap their hands or paws or anything they got, now."

STOP

Batman and His Batcave

Because some days you just need to have a super hero in the house to get anything done :)


As I posted on FB, he was playing batman in his batcave/fort and the ongoing dialog was just too much.

Son: "Mom, I took my special bat cape off so I can sleep, but don't worry. I don't keep my special super powers in my cape. I keep them in my tummy".
Me: "Oh, what do you eat to make super powers in your tummy? Spinach?"
Son:  "No Mom, I eat granola!"

Few minutes later... "Mom, I put a special a-guise [disguise] to look like the bad guys so I can sneak up on them and they won't organize me"

Mother's Day Ponderings

I was blessed today with a some moments to myself, time to slow down and ponder a bit.  And write a little.  A busy, full day like today is even better if I can slow down to remember. 

Remember all the blessings God has poured on my life.  Remember that even when this job of Mom feels so huge, so overwhelming, that He is always there, strength in my weakness, ready to pour grace and love into my life so I can pour grace and love into my son's. 

Remember that I'm not walking this journey alone.

Remember all the ways my mom impacted and continues to impact my life, my mothering, and pours out love on us.  Remember my mother-in-law and all she does, specifically how her mothering impacted my husband, who I think is pretty wonderful.  Remember my grandmas (and great-grandmas) who blessed and continue to bless me so much. 

Remember all the other women God placed in my life as blessings, who touch my life and my mothering -  women from church growing up, from small group, mothers of junior high kids when we were youth group volunteers, friends who became mothers before me, friends who are mothering alongside me in the trenches.

Remember my first Mother's Day as a mom.

Remember other past Mother's Days.

And take the time to store up a few special moments from today.... to remember,

and then thank God again for the blessing of being a mother.

Please join me in praying for those who find Mother's Day a tough day this year.  I remember how hard this day was when I was waiting, aching to be a mom.  Remember those who have lost their mother or a child.  Those who have made an adoption plan for their baby.  Those who are struggling with infertility or lost a pregnancy.  Those who are still waiting to become a mother.  Those who don't have children but have chosen to use their love to bless other children in their lives.

Wordless Wednesday: Spring Showers

 

Fun with the Letter "O"

Since we had so much fun learning about owls at the Zoomobile presentation a few weekends ago, we decided to celebrate O is for Owl last week.


Books We Read

• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
• Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
• Lazy Ozzie by Michael Coleman
• Owly by Mike Thaler
• Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• All About Owls (All About Series) by Jim Arnosky

Owl for Lunch

This cute owl sandwich was super simple to make.  I made diagonal cuts to form the wings, adding banana slices with craisins for eyes, a cheese triangle for beak, cheese feet and some pretzels for a branch. 


Owl Crafts

We made these adorable owls out of toilet paper rolls.  After bending/folding in one end to make the top of the head of the owl, my kiddo excitedly started painting.  I was thinking we'd make one, maybe two, owls but he wanted to keep painting and painting.  After all the paint dried, we added construction paper wings, googly eyes, and paper beak.

We also did this quick project above.  After I drew the letter O on a sheet of paper, my son filled it in with small o's (to look sort of like feathers, really just keeping him busy while I gathered other supplies).  Then we put together the face, wings and feet.  He helped with some of the cutting.  Notice the extra detail he added to the feet -- he reminded me the owl feet needed sharp claws to pick up mice.  I guess he was listening to the books during the week!

Five Minute Fridays: Brave

This week I'm participating in Five Minute Fridays hosted by Lisa-Jo Baker again.  She encourages bloggers to write on a prompt unedited for five minutes.  This weeks prompt is Brave.

GO

The children's book made me pause.  My son wondered why Mommy stopped reading.  Being brave isn't doing something when you are unafraid (and maybe someone else would be).  Being brave is doing something that scares you but not letting that fear stop you.

Moving forward with knocking knees.  Saying yes while praying your heart out for strength.  Tears streaming down your face while you let go a dream for what God is whispering in your heart.

Brave can take on so many faces.  Telling the story that my heart says needs to be heard, even if it means crying in public.  Saying good-bye to home for a few weeks and travelling across the world, to an airport guarded by soldiers with machine guns, and smiling.  Holding onto hope, one month at a time, praying that someday someone will call me mommy.  Leaving a good job I was successful at for an important one with no pay, staying home full time.  Holding a loved one's hand as a respirator hums in the back ground.

Being brave is doing the hard thing, the scary thing, sometimes even when you don't want to, when you can't see what is around the corner or what will happen next.  For me, brave works best when acting alongside faith.

STOP

* I believe the children's book I'm thinking of is "Chester the Brave"

Wordless Wednesday: Ties and Tongues

Wearing a tie for church and sticking his tongue out for the photo :)