heat index

This week my weatherman loved to talk about the heat index.

Let's just say it was Hot. And Humid.

And during a Missouri summer those words are capitalized.
Yes sir they are.

My respite is sparkling water.

It's refreshing, I think it must be the bubbles.

And when the heat index is 105,

and it is still only June,

well,

I've earned it.

A Tuesday in June

9:00 am - moon sand on the deck

10:30 am - using dad's measuring tapes and recording our discoveries 11:00 am - most of us are still in pjs

2:00 pm - quiet time and little man looks out the window6:45 pm - Lily loves gymnastics, especially the popsicle they hand out afterwards7:30 pm - replenishing our supply of jam

Laundry room chalkboard with a reminder to treasure the normal days. I figure this is the perfect placement, because nothing is more ordinary than laundry.

***

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so.

One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want more than all the world, your return.

-Mary Jean Iron

I've always heard that gardening can teach you a lot about life.

I've been searching for ideas that make living with vegetables pretty. On a deck these plants take up a lot of room. I say, make those tomato cages earn their keep! What a great idea. Of course carrying out such a project is more difficult than it may appear. When do I have time for frivolous things? If you want to know the nitty-gritty of this DIY, it involves me at the edge of the woods, in the dark, with a flashlight, 4 wire cages and a can of spray paint.

Logistics aside, I find satisfaction in this aspect of motherhood. Finding ways to make our lives a little more comfortable and beautiful is important to me.

After I took these pictures, David called to tell me about a cockroach job he took. In haste he bid a premium price for this time consuming and undesirable task. He wasn't really concerned about getting the work, but the customer agreed. He arrived at the home to find the caller was 17 years old. The teenager met him at the door and showed him the infested house. It was a much larger problem than David had imagined. Through casual conversation David discovered that the boys parents refused to do anything about it, and he just couldn't live like that any longer. He said he wanted to be able to bring his friends over. So he was paying for the treatments, with his own money.

Sometimes my perspective changes so swiftly that it shocks me.

The Lord sees fit to teach me this way.

I see the yellow tomato cages not as a reminder of my clever accomplishments, but a reminder of how very much more there is for me to do.

Zachary Cannon Painter

The thing is, I know that one day I'll look back at these pictures and be shocked at how little he looks. I'll see a baby face and a full set of baby teeth. I'll be transported back to the days where Ninja Turtles and sidewalk chalk made for a perfect afternoon. But as it stands now, I can hardly comprehend how big my firstborn is. He looks so grown up, ready for school, ready for friends and new adventures. I'm filled with this overwhelming (overwhelming!) gratitude to be his mother. As much as I sometimes wish for him to stay my little guy forever, I'm comforted knowing that I've really, really enjoyed these years we've had together. I've tried my hardest to be present in the moment. And, I am confident all the years ahead of us will be equally wonderful.

Home

If I'm being honest, there are days where my heart literally hurts from thinking about the life that almost was. I miss the blackberry summers and the girls from Portland, and I dream about the house we wanted to buy, the warm winter and of course, the girls in Houston.

I think, I could have been happy there.

I love my family, they are the best part about being back. But a year later, I am still trying to find my rhythm. I am where I am supposed to be, but I am still wondering what that means.

Earlier this week I stepped out onto my deck after a big storm. It was 8:30 at night and the final bits of sunset were trying desperately to peek through the thunderclouds. It was beautiful. It was peaceful.

I breathed in the green smell.

I looked around and was grateful that this was my personal view of the world.

I'm their aunt...so I can't help myself

I took these pictures the day before I left for girls camp. I've been dying to get to them since.

I'm BACK! It feels so good. And boy, there are so many stories about the week I just spent in the woods.

Life moves forward at a breakneck speed doesn't it.

There's no waiting around for people without Internet access for over a week.

My husband surprised me by exchanging services with a green home cleaning company. Four girls cleaned my house top to bottom this morning for 4 hours! That's 16 hours of cleaning I'll never do. It's the most pampered I've felt in a long time.

And although I want to write everything down, and spend all day on this computer...there is much to do, and so I leave with the one blessing that's nothing short of a miracle...

I escaped the TICKS! (well, ticks that were attached anyway)