walk in love

As a wife and mom I somtimes lose sight of the big picture. My husband is in a very stressful season and juggling school, work, rental property, our own household, and an internship for school. The one thing he asks of me is the very thing I struggle with to do well. It is to keep our household clean, picked up, and organized. I have an almost one year old and a three year old. How do other people do it, I wonder? When both of us are feeling exhausted and maxed out, my husband looks to our home being a place of rest and order in his chaotic world. I fail. Every single time. I push myself til I dont think I can do anymore and it goes overlooked or somtimes criticized. When that happens I feel like my heart is going to literally burst. Im crushed. Im devestated because Im trying yet Im failing. BUT, wait. Am I? Man looks at the outward,but God looks at the heart. The very core of me. He doesnt look for perfection but redemption. He looks at my sincerity and loves me at my weakest. What Im trying to say is, who are you doing it for at the end of the day? If my children or husband dont eat the meal I fix them or scowl at the mess I just cleaned up 5 minutes ago, it's okay. Because I didnt do it for them. I did it for the Lord. I did it with my best and I gave my all. That is what He is looking for. When my effort is unnoticed, I wont get hurt or offended. Why? Im not looking for approval from the eyes of men because I know I already have the approval of the one who sees my heart. . I did it in love. I can smile and embrace humility and love the people I love most. I can forgive and feed on the praise of God rather than the forgetfulness of man. Be liberated today! God has a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. Step into His redemption today. You are attracting the eyes of heaven when you choose humility and love. It is a rare thing in the earth today.

early may

I am amazed at how fast this garden is growing. I started seeding in early March since the weather was incredibly warm as if it was April or May weather. Now were harvesting so many things, radishes, spinach, blond lettuces, cilantro, thyme, oregano, arugula, kale, beets...what is fun is letting Eden harvest with me and then wash it off and chop it into our plates. With the help of very delicious salad dressings....she eats it! She normally needs somthing to dip her veggies in ....like hummus (thank you very much, without you there'd be no hope) or dressings. And two new additions this year are the chicken wire (my 86 year old grandpa is awesome!!) fenced in garden area complete with door and lock and mulch to cover the soil. My next step is to look for a tree service that mulches the leaves and everything and to get ahold of THAT awesome organic stuff for free. Check out this documentary about gardening with mulch. So far only a few catepillars have munched holes in my lettuces and kale, but that is good news because its delicious to eat and safe! Did you know in Japan people would pay twice to three times more for vegetables that had bug bite holes in them? They did this because the vegetables in the stores that looked perfect had been sprayed by pesticides and the bugs wouldn't touch it or eat it. They didn't want to eat what bugs didn't see fit. Plus its really not good for our bodies. Interesting food for thought.....

D.I.Y. hairbows & nesting blocks

My friend Ashton Shjandemaar had this incredibly genius idea to make bows for our little girls, whats funny is that we ended up wearing them more than they did. Pick out your favorite fabric, cut it into a rectangle and if you like you can surge the edges if you have a surger or sewing machine, otherwise just bunch it up and use a hot glue gun. To make my headband I just used a pair of grey tights and cut it. So easy. So cute. So fast.
The second idea is to hot glue on some nesting blocks your favorite fabric. I used some teaching blocks that were a firm paper/cardboard type of material. Eden ran away with the nesting theme and called them her wedding cakes. I suppose that would work, too.

letter station

Ever since her grandma started sending her letters in the mail, it became a sudden interest and we suddenly started looking for the mailman, and looking for mail on a regular basis. Awhile ago, I saw an idea of a mail/letter station. In a moment of complete inspiration today I put together hers, in her current playroom. I set up stamps, a booklet of dates to remember (bdays), an address book, vintage envelopes from my father, colored pencils, a library stamp for the date, a notepad and some thank you cards and envelopes. My hope in all this, was to inspire her to write and color to keep in touch with loved ones, but also to fuel her creativity. I am a big fan of learning spaces. I want my home to be inviting to kids to explore and create and use their imaginations and to be a spring board to learn and grow. I feel like our playroom is shifting into this big school room which is ironic because I always wanted to be a teacher. If you're a parent you're already a teacher. I love that learning and fun can begin at any age. The next post will be about her transformations to her new playroom. Until then!