Monday, May 27, 2013

Bursting

The leaves on the trees are bursting, stretching their glorious green wings open to soak up the sun's rays.  



Everyone I know, myself included, is also ready to burst.  Like the buds on the trees, we can't hold it in any longer.  We want out.  Out of socks and shoes, out of the house, out of work and school.  We want to stretch our wings and feel the sun on our faces, the sand in our toes, and the breeze in our hair.  

We are bursting around here.  Getting practiced and prepared for summer, anxiously waiting to trade in routines for late summer nights and lazy jammies mornings.  

A sneak preview of things to come...

bubble blowing.

outdoor dining.

water in the pirate ship.

unfortunately, the water didn't last.  The ship sank due to a worn out leaky plug.  

the start of many trips to the park.



sand in our toes.

it was a long, white winter. bring on some color.

bright pink petunias for this girl.

they picked all the flowers for the yard this year.

dusty miller is her favorite, she says because of the way it feels.

Are you ready to burst too?

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Showing Up

Last week, I recovered from the stomach flu just in time to see everyone else in this house taken down, one by one, by this mean and nasty virus.  Lexi was first in line after me, waking us at 1 am, with the start of load after load of laundry and two middle of the night baths.  Little sister's not so good at hittin' the bucket.  Next it was Jon's turn.  And just when we thought big sister escaped the powerful grip of the stomach bug, I got the call from the school.  There was an incident.  


Callie must be reading the scary part.
Thankfully everyone was healthy enough to continue with our long weekend plans.  We had a some family things to take care of.  I said some final good-byes to two uncles.  I don't know if its appropriate or weird to take photos at a cemetery but I took a few anyway.  I actually found the cemetery to be a very peaceful and calming place.  And since some time has passed since we lost these men, our emotions had a little cushioning.  Sometimes, when there are no words or when there is no way to ease the pain of loss, the only thing left to do is show up.  If I've learned anything from my family over the years it's that Love is showing up for your people.  Showing up for the good times and in the hardest moments.



I like this little church.  It is a replica of the church my grandparents and my parents were married in.  When the church had to be torn down they made this model with remnants from the actual building.  I have a picture of me with my grandparents on the steps of the church on the Sunday that the last service took place.  If that picture was digital I would have inserted it here.

*****

Showing up for our people also included attending my cousin's wedding. Its always beautiful to watch two people promising to always show up for each other... forever.



They look so young.  And happy.  And in love.  This is the first wedding my girls have been to that they can remember.  They watched the "show" intently as the princess walked down the aisle.  Callie thought it was awesome that she seen them give each other their rings.  I have told her the story of why mom and dad wear the special rings that she can't play with many times.



I enjoyed watching my girls play with their cousins at this family wedding.  They ran around and danced on the dance floor.  I danced with them, holding their hands and twirling them around.  The girl's favorite part of the wedding was definitely the elaborate candy table.  They will be eating white, blue, and yellow candies for a  very long time.




*****
We also showed up to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday.  Insert picture of grandma blowing out the candles with her great-granddaughters here.

I didn't have my camera ready for that memory making moment.  But I have these ones of the kids playing in this little dirt-road town that my family has gathered in for many, many years.





The face of this town has changed alot since my grandparents first moved here in the 80's.  But what hasn't changed is that we keep coming back, showing up for our people.


Sunday, May 12, 2013

Mom's Day

I was showered with Mother's Day treasures.  I love these cards that the girls made at preschool.  This is my first one from Lexi.  She chose yellow for me and thinks that I'm 10 years old.  Gotta love her.



I have received a few of these cards from Callie over the years.  This year she really made me think.  Maybe I do spend too much precious time on the computer.  I also asked why she didn't just guess a number for my age and she said, "because the only number I could think of was 100 and I knew you weren't 100."  Thank you, sweetheart, for not saying I'm 100 years old.



Today I forced myself out of bed after an unexpected onset of the stomach flu that completely knocked me out for twenty-four hours.  I got up and slowly began re-entering life feeling frustrated that I had to give up an at-home day to being sick.  I didn't have a lot of zip in me but I so wanted to enjoy Mother's Day with my family.  For most of the day the best I could manage was to sit outside in a lawn chair and read the assembly instructions for the BBQ and watch the girls play.



I'm not sure what Callie liked better, the BBQ box or the bubble wrap...



Lexi sat in the dirt for at least an hour, all by herself, planting seeds.  I can't wait to see some green emerge from the earth.



And hula-girl provided live shows as I sipped my ginger ale and felt sad that I said, "no, mama can't play, she doesn't feel well" so many times this weekend.

I watched as big sister tried to teach little sister how to ride a two wheeler...



And we celebrated Jon's BBQ assembly accomplishment with supper cooked on the new grill.  (The beard? He has a bet with Callie.  He will shave when she wears all her hair up in one ponytail.  I don't think anyone is going to win this bet.)

I was taken very good care of this Mother's Day weekend.


I'm a little pale looking, but I'll take it.  I'm feeling better tonight and ready to start another week with lots of things happening.  Happy Mother's Day.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Catching Up

Hello there blog world.  It's been awhile since we've hung out together.  Life has been happening and things have been... steady.  I almost used the "B" word.  I really don't like to use the "B" word to describe life.  It's overused and people get caught up in out-busying each other and before you know it you someone will give you the modern day put down by saying, "I don't have time for that!" Those words often chop at peoples passions and they roll off the tongue so easily.  "Oh, you blog.  I don't have time for that!"  "You craft.  Well I don't have time for that!" "You read, write, paint, play with your kids, exercise, volunteer, coach or whatever, someone will be sure to let you know that they are busier than you.  

So I haven't been too busy to write, I've just been living life.  And life has definitely been happening around here.  Let's lay it out for you... in point form.

1. Our family got a new set of wheels!  It's been ten years since our last new vehicle so this is a pretty big deal for us.  We took the girls for a ride to get their approval.  Callie gave it two thumbs up, one for the sunroof and one for the back window that opens.  Lexi couldn't give a thumb rating because her hands were covering her nose clearly telling us she doesn't like the smell of the new truck.  The girls ended the ride by getting their muddy boots all over the back seat.  I decided I would stick with driving the old truck for a while longer.


2.  I had a ladies only trip to the city last weekend to celebrate my good friend who is getting married this summer.  And that could be a whole blog post itself but what happens on the road stays on the road!  Actually, nothing really happened on the road unless you call a bunch of friends laughing at our own meager attempts at learning how to pole dance something that needs to stay on the road.  Mostly what we did was have some great conversations and catch up with each other lives, talk about wedding plans and have our first drinks of the season on the outdoor patio!  Spring showed up while I was in the city.  The warm sun on my face, pints of cold ale, good food, a little shopping and female bonding... the perfect combination for a spring renaissance.  And when I got home, my girls were waiting for me.  It's good to get away.  But it's even better to come home.





3. Our little family has a lot going on this month.  And that means that time will be rolling downhill. Momentum is growing and we plan to jump on and coast our way into summer holidays.  Every once in awhile we will jump off and take a look at how the birds ate all the seeds off the feeder the girls made and comment on how Callie needs a bigger bike and helmet that feels right.  We'll look at Lexi and say, "it's time for another haircut."  We'll make sure the "B" word doesn't get in the way of all the little joys in life.
  




4. Last night we had an uninvited guest show up at our door.  Yes, I know that when you live in the forest animals should be expected but this bear was way too close for my liking.  



Mr. Black Bear pressed his nose up against the glass of the kitchen door.  Callie was panicking, asking if the bear was going to come in the house.  I said, "Oh, no sweetheart, bears don't have thumbs to turn the door handle." I'm not sure how convincing my explanation was but she was a little shook up and needed some extra TLC to get to sleep.  Lexi, on the other hand, probably would have opened the door and let him in so she could pet him.  We had to sternly tell her several times to back away from the window.  Even though he doesn't have any thumbs we thought it best not to encourage papa bear to try to enter our kitchen.  

The bears are on the move.  
Yep, spring is definitely here!