Words

by kristen on June 17, 2013

little man 3

little man 4

little man 5

Look at this Little Man. He’s something great, isn’t he? Someone handed this outfit down to us, and I couldn’t resist dressing him in it on Father’s Day. Nevermind his bare feet peeking out, I never seem to keep my babies in shoes or socks until they’re walking, even if it could add a tad more class to the ensemble!

I’m in the midst of trying to mentally pare down once again. Simplify is the word, perhaps, but to be honest, I’m a bit over that word. While I’m at it, I’m also over the words and their connotations of Nutrition, Frugality, Crafting, & Schooling. I’m probably also over the words Planning, Pinterest, & Research, not to mention Alternative Health, Crunchy & Organic. It’s not necessarily that I don’t care any longer, it’s just that I’m so tired of all the knowledge I’ve immersed myself in since having children. All the things I should be doing better with in life, because I know so very much. It’s exhausting, all this living up, making the right decisions based on information gleaned, knowing how hard I fail to reach the standards I create for myself, over and over.

You want to know what words I’m really into right now? Grace. Exercise. Grace. Prayer. Family. Swimming. Church. Knitting. TV. Grace.

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He’s the Dad

by kristen on June 16, 2013

dad

He’s the Dad who walked the house for most of those early nights, holding this fussy, first-born baby daughter as she learned to fall asleep.

He’s the Dad who taught this daughter how to flick the wrist and shoot the perfect basket.

He’s the Dad who ate lunch at school with this daughter and her friends more times than she can count, making her feel like the most special girl in the world.

He’s the Dad who sat at an intersection for hours upon hours with this daughter, so she could tally for a Science Experiment how many cars “rolled” to a stop instead of braking.

He’s the Dad who planned the most extensive Scavenger Hunts in the backyard.

He’s the Dad who led his family in devotions around the kitchen table.

He’s the Dad who whisked this daughter out of school every Spring to go catch a Pirates game down at McKecknie Field.

He’s the Dad who sprinted down a street and a half when he heard this daughter fall off her 10-speed.

He’s the Dad who made a simple errand run feel like an adventure coupled with the best conversation.

He’s the Dad who when this daughter drove right over that speed limit sign in the family station wagon, declared to all the neighbors who came out to stare that that sign wasn’t really needed there, anyway.

He’s the Dad who took this daughter on dates to galleries and museums as she grew up, because that is what she loved, even though he would probably have preferred a ball game.

He’s the Dad who drove 8 hours in one day, just to take this daughter to lunch at college, on her first birthday away from home.

He’s the Dad who awoke to the Spirit’s prompting, praying on his knees for this daughter at all hours of the night.

He’s the Dad who answered that long distance call and gave his blessing to this daughter’s future husband.

He’s the Dad who drives the Mom half a day to this daughter’s house to help her with her own children, even if he has to drive back the same day for work.

He’s the Dad who this daughter loves with her whole heart.

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Summer Storm

by kristen on June 15, 2013

summer storm

summer storm

summer storm

I love a good late-afternoon thunder storm, Florida-style. The way one sweeps through, insistently loud, dramatically changing the mood of the day. Those of us who know, who have awaited the afternoon storms since we were little, we can smell the rain coming, stand in our bare feet on the driveway to feel the cooling wind right before the fury arrives. We turn off the computer, the tv, the phones, calming our home for that short hour. We gather, read, knit. All of us together while watching the windows and the flickering candlelight, just in case.

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The In-Between Time

by kristen on June 14, 2013

the gulf

Well, it’s been quite the long while, hasn’t it? If I get out of the routine of doing something, like writing and taking pictures, it’s a big deal for me to get back into it. I have to think about it for a few days (weeks?) before I can settle into the rhythm once again that makes me happy.

Thanks for some of your sweet inquiries on the twins’ tonsillectomies – all went well, and we are pretty much now back to normal. In this in-between time, we’ve also celebrated Adeline’s birthday, Keith’s birthday and spent a beautiful weekend on the Gulf to celebrate my Dad’s retirement. We’ve seen a long-lost brother who flies to town every once in awhile and we’ve gone to a baseball game with good friends. I’ve realized our girls remember nothing from past swim lessons, so we are going back to the basics for this hot summer pool weather, and just this week, things are normalizing for me as well – I have a loaf of bread in the oven, knitting is happily occupying my hands and the children are interested once again (hurray!) in reading with me for long periods of time.

Here’s to the small things that bring such joy!

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Yarn Along

by kristen on May 8, 2013

Yarning along with Ginny over at small things:

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading?

yarn

I’ve set the swift up on the kitchen table, hoping to wind this wool when I can sit down for a few minutes. I’m looking forward to knitting another something up for Luke sometime soon.

I’m reading: All the information the doctors have sent home with me concerning the twins upcoming tonsillectomy. I’m a nervous wreck.

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Rest

by kristen on May 7, 2013

outside

outside

outside

outside

outside

outside

outside

outside

outside

outside

outside

outside

outside

outside

This past Sunday was an exceptionally beautiful one, the first sun we had seen after 3 or 4 days of almost non-stop gray and rain. The girls had it in their minds to find a worm. They had been talking about finding a worm since about the second day of rain, when they could see it would probably be good conditions for such a pet. They had cut leftover felt into little worms and placed them in a jar on the third day of the rain in anticipation of the real thing. So by Sunday, they were bound and determined to find one, the one they had already named Squirmy. Squirmy the Worm.

Keith, Luke and I sat on the back deck. Keith smoked his pipe and I knitted a bit. Some nice chatting and whatnot.

This is proving to be a hectic week, more so than the norm, and so I am thankful that we chose to rest this past Sunday afternoon. Both Keith and I have long to-do lists filled with even more to-do lists, and we almost succombed to the lure of getting things done. Pushing through, turning on a movie for the girls to watch so we could get busy checking off those lists.  But Sundays are reserved for our rest, part of the rhythm of our week. So usually whenever Keith gets home from church, the kids and I are already home, lunch is made, sometimes eaten, and we begin our afternoons of rest. I try not to do much if any laundry or house tasks and Keith puts his studies and work things away.  He reads fiction, I read non-fiction – this being the one day to read something we usually don’t, something good for our souls.

Sundays give us rest from the previous days work and recharge us for the work of the week ahead.

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Meet Mr. Fox (Plus A Recipe)

by kristen on May 3, 2013

almond butter

Meet Mr. Fox. Besides their kitties, Mr. Fox is the twins most prized possession. He shows up everywhere. His name is Mr. Fox. Never plain Fox. Never Fantastic Mr. Fox, for they have never read nor seen the story (though they do like the soundtrack). He is simply Mr. Fox.

I ran out of our usual almond butter this week. With a peanut allergy in our family, Costco has had the best priced nut butter for us, and as it is an everyday staple I heavily depend on, I wasn’t quite sure what to do when we ran out. My monthly trip to the big store was still a week away. I found some almonds in the freezer, and using a recipe from The Homemade Pantry as a springboard, I got creative in the kitchen and made do with what we had. And can I tell you – when we all tasted it, it was like rainbows and lollipops exploded all around. It was really that good. Can I say that humbly? I don’t know. I just kept hearing Thank You, Mommy, Thank You For Making This literally ringing around the house as the girls danced with spoons of it in the air. Really. I am not kidding.

A few days later, after being in the fridge, it is still good, but not as good as it was fresh out of the oven. But I think it is a recipe I must share, just in case it leads you and yours to bouts of joy as well.

  • 3 cups raw almonds, toasted in the oven for about 15 minutes.
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 cup honey, scant
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • Place everything except oils in a food processor, and blend for 1 minute.
  • Slowly add oils through the chute in the lid and blend until you get the consistency you like.

The coconut oil hardens in the fridge, but because it’s only half the amount of total oil needed, it is still spreadable, if only a little stiff.

The absolute best way to eat this almond butter is:

  1. Let it cool for a few minutes on the counter, and then
  2. Dip crisp-cold apples in big globs of this goodness.

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Rainy Day Garland

by kristen on May 2, 2013

fiber garland

fiber garland

fiber garland

fiber garland

This rainy day provided us the perfect opportunity to use up the felt scraps I’ve collected over the years. Using Soulemama’s The Handmade Home as our starting point, the girls busied themselves cutting and sewing. Adeline impressed me, as the youngest sister, by getting right to work with her needle and thread. She had no questions, and just immersed herself in her work. It pleased me as her mama to watch her own delight in her handiwork.

The constant drizzle out our windows, combined with my sleepy brain from just a couple hours of strange, interrupted sleep last night, led to a very dreamy haze. It quieted me, slowed me down, helped me to just sit on the floor with them and the baby rather than try to get other things done. It was a peaceful home today, and I am thankful. My desperate prayers in the minutes before they all awoke were answered.

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Yarn Along

by kristen on May 1, 2013

Yarning along with Ginny over at small things:

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading?

yarn along

I’m feeling pretty utilitarian in my knitting endeavors lately – casting on for another pair of pants/longies and also a new soaker.

I’ve gone back to the “membership” of Port William by reading Jayber Crow. I first started it at my parents on a recent visit, and recently checked it out from the library to finish.

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Reading and Walking

by kristen on April 30, 2013

growing up

growing up

growing up

growing up

growing up

growing up

growing up

growing up

growing up

growing up

These sisters can’t get enough of their little brother. If he is up and not nursing, then his time is demanded upon by the girls. After placing him in the bumbo yesterday, I ran to start a new load of laundry. When I came back, the girls had joined with him in a reading circle, all cozied up with blankets, in all stages of dress-up, taking turns reading to him from his little books. And how he loved it – how he loves them. I’m seeing the twins especially in such an older light now that they’re actively taking part in caring for the baby.

I let the girls take their baby dolls on a walk all by themselves today. Keith and I have always hovered close when we’re all outside, but since moving from our busy street in the Urban Core to a sleepy suburban neighborhood, I’ve slowly realized that perhaps I can let them go. A little. We’ve started small by allowing them free reign of the yard, both front and back, while I’m in the kitchen. But today it was time to let them go farther. It was the middle of the day when our cul de sac was even emptier than usual, I told them precisely which driveways they could walk between, and then I stood on our own driveway and watched them the entire time. But they walked tall and confident, like they knew just what they were doing. Like they were more than ready for this freedom, and maybe it’s just their cautious mama holding them back?

The twins collected fruit that had fallen on the sidewalk. Adeline walked like a princess. The twins could dig in the dirt all day, Adeline would just as soon help me wash the dishes.

 

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