Little Loves...

Happy Monday!
Have I mentioned before how much I love Mondays? 
They are fresh - they are new - and it's like we've been given a clean slate from all the days previous.
I like clean slates.  I need them.

And for us, anyway - this particular Monday was vomit free - so we, really, could only come up in the world.  We have an insanely busy week ahead of us these next few days, also.  So, I think - knowing that today was our only quiet day home with just the boys and I - made me savor it just a bit more.

Nothing spectacular happened, really.
But, it was warm and sunny....and school actually got accomplished relatively smoothly...and we're having leftovers for supper, which is always lovely, in my book - because it involves little or no work for me....and we have no agenda for our evening tonight - which is always nice...

And it was just slow.
And peaceful.
And puke-free.
I'm still really savoring that last one.

So...it's been awhile.
But, I think it's time for an Amy's List of Loves.
Don't you?  Okay.  Here we go:

Over the course of the weekend, Jesse - our only soldier who did not get sick, by the way - earned himself a little trip to Build a Bear.  He's been working - we've been working - for AGES to help him stay dry at night.  By day, he plays like a puppy - and by night he sleeps like a dead man, and the poor kid just never woke up whenever he had to go to the bathroom.  But, this past month, something clicked and I think we're golden.  So, this was his reward.  Kaden got to do the same thing when he broke his habit of sucking his thumb.  And can I just say -- this is one smart business?  Oh my goodness.  They know what they're doing...

I cleaned out my purse this weekend.  This is what I found just inside the main compartment.  I believe, in total, I found about 16 matchbox cars, 6 packs of gum, 3 tubes of toothpaste, a mini mouthwash, 3 mini hairsprays, about 5 lipsticks, and the list went on...and on...and on.  I think I have purse hoarding issues.

Rustic Raspberry Pie.
Healthy.  Super easy.  Super delicious.  Minimal ingredients.
Want them?
Fill a pie plate with whatever berries you have - fresh or frozen.  Shake 3 Tablespoons of minute tapioca over it (this serves as a thickener).  Stir in 1/2 cup pure maple syrup - or half maple syrup and half honey.

For the crust mix:
1 heaping cup spelt flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons cold water.

Roll it out and place on top.  Obviously.
I will warn you - if you use all spelt flour, the rolling part is a little tricky.  It doesn't necessarily look "pretty."  Hence, the term "Rustic" Raspberry Pie....

Bake at 350-375 degrees until crust crisps up and fruit gets bubbly.
Approximately 45 minutes.
Voila.

See?
Plate licking good.
I do try to teach my children manners...

Best served over a rousing game of Cribbage.
Even better if I win.

Letting my girls run free while we played outside this morning.  Coop getting a much needed mucking out - bonus.  Me almost getting stuck in the tiny little opening at the side.  Priceless.

Swinging with the wee one.

Taking pics of my middle boys' mad jumping skillz...
And holding waaaaay back on the laughter when he did the most amazing of faceplants into the white stuff.
We're talking up the nose, down the neck, and all through the teeth.
Go big or go home, Baby.

Finding a curriculum that clicks with this little one's brain and teaching style.
He is not a typical textbook student.  By aaaaaannnnnyyyyy means.

For whatever reason - memorizing the basic 26 letters has been very very difficult for him.  I found this book:  "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" where they learn the sounds first - as opposed to the names of each letter...it's called the "Distar" learning approach.  Somehow, someway - this clicks with him.

So we are rolling with it.

Fresh eggs.  Warm and cozy...
I will never get tired of collecting eggs from my coop.
This makes me very happy.

Snow profiles.
Notice the front - NOT the back, please...

So, there you have it.
A wee list of weekend and Monday loves.
Happy Day, friends!

May your evening be filled with a yummy supper, cozy cuddles, and early bedtimes.
If those are the sorts of things that make you happy....

Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease...
#4231-#4245 ~ My Joy Journey

Revenge of the Black Death.

This was a week for the books.

One I do not care to repeat anytime soon.  Like ever.
Wee-eEEEe are never, EVER, ever....getting back together...

Child sick on the couch.  Puked on blankets washed and drying.

I have never handled more bodily fluids in my life than I have in these past few days.
I have never washed more laundry or scrubbed more floors in the course of a week than I have these past few days.
And I have never had my entire family taken out by some sort of virus all at the same time before, like this.

Other child sick on the couch.

It was honestly and truly rather epic.
I'm still wrapping my brain around the madness.

And to celebrate our survival and the fact that we altogether were feeling healthy all at the same time, and on the same day even - Kevy brought home pizza last night.  Which may have been a wee bit ambitious...as right before bed Ransom missed the potty with hurl episode number one....and then completely projectiled over the side of his bed in the middle of the night...which I promptly stepped in when I came down in a drunken haze to see why he was calling out for me at 1:00a.m.

Sick children on the mattress.  Change of scenery.

I'll leave the rest to your imagination...
Methinks he's had a bit of a relapse of sorts.

Needless to say, my dreams are filled with vomit.
My days are filled with vomit.
And for fear of my house smelling like perpetual vomit - yesterday, I did seven loads of sheets, blankets, towels, pillows, p.j.'s, and all sorts and sundry articles of clothing.  And then, I mopped my entire downstairs.  I honestly can't remember the last time I mopped my floors....so there's a perk.  I guess.

Sick child back on the couch.  Other semi-sick child soon to be sick again.

So, here's to today.
Here's to the weekend, and for taking things slow.
For coffee and Cribbage...and for maybe stepping outside into the real world for a few minutes.
Here's to bellies calming down, and potties staying bleached.
Here's to no more stepping in, or wiping up, or washing off, or gifting back vomit in any shape or form.
Here's to - maybe just maybe - a new week of health.
Cheers!

Fingers crossed....and puke pots close....

Sunshine Muffins.

Or....
Another working title could be:  "The Day My Kitchen Begged for Mercy."
"Sunshine Muffins" just sounds....happier...don't you think?
And they are happy.  Truly.  They make my tummy smile.
And a messy kitchen is much happier than the flu sickness we've been living with this past week...so, we're rolling with it, today.

Ever get on a little kick where you haven't made something for a really long time...and then you remember it... so you make it...and then you remember how much you loved it...so you make it a lot....like a lot a lot...like whenever you feel like a snack or whenever you have company over...or...or...something...like....that?!

hello?
Anyone?

Well, these little muffins are like that for my boys and I.  They are a childhood memory, for me, because Mom used to make these all the time for us kids.  And they are fun for my boys, because they get to make ginormous messes...I mean, "help out" in the creation of these here beauties.

This recipe takes an entire orange - pulp, juice, peel and all - pureed right up in your blender and another half cup of juice besides.  And for some reason, those little factoids bring my boys great amounts of joy.

My kitchen is usually very VERY sticky after the makings of these muffins.
But they are worth it - that's how good they are!

And - other than the mess the kids create - they require relatively little clean-up, and few utensils are used.
Bonus, baby!

So, here's what you do:
Take one, good-sized orange, wash it, cut it up into pieces, and chuck it in your blender along with 1/2 cup orange juice that is not watered down.  Juicing some real oranges, is the best...and the best for you.  Obviously.

We tend to make these muffins when I find a whole whack of half dead oranges or tangerines laying around at the very back of my fridge.  Jesse, in particular, loves to go to town with the juicer.  And by "go to town," I mean... GO...TO...TOWN...

epic.

Blend until smooth.
Then add to your blender concoction:
1/2 - 1 cup sugar....(I think 1/2 cup is totally sufficient.  I have also used honey - and just beef up the flour)
1 large egg
1/2 cup softened butter

A quick and easy way to soften your refrigerated butter is to nuke it in your microwave for a few seconds - flipping it over every few seconds until it starts to get soft.  Do NOT accidentally push the button for five minutes and then walk out of the room to help your toddler on the potty....and then return to a wonder of glory that is popping and gurgling and bubbling All.  Over.  Said.  Microwave.

epic.  again.
Like mother, like son - methinks.

Ahhhh.  Deep, cleansing breaths.  Now, where was I....
Ah yes - blend those things until smooth, as well.

In a separate bowl, mix your dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour - (spelt, white, whole wheat - all work well)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder

Pending no other catastrophes, add your blender ingredients to your dry bowl.
Just barely mix until moistened.
Pour into greased muffin pans and cook at 350 degrees until toothpick tests clean.

Voila!
Best served warm.
And even better if you thought ahead to make a double batch.
Fun, orange color for bonus...

Happy Muffin Monday....er, Tuesday...um, Wednesday?....no wait, it's Thursday now.
Oh....it's Friday?
Life...whew...

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." ~ Luciano Pavarotti, My Own Story

When you Feel Like a Loser Mama...

Sometimes....

When you hurt the feelings of your middle boy....and he comes to you crying an hour later confessing to you that you "really hurt him when you said this"....but you were so busy rushing and racing that you didn't even realize that you hurt his feelings in the first place.

...It actually took him coming to you in tears over an hour later for it to hit home...

And sometimes...

When you've lied to your oldest boy...and it eats at your soul until you go and swallow your pride and ask for his forgiveness...in which he promptly and humbly.... and graciously forgives you...

..but you wonder if he'll really be able to take you at your word from now on...

...When your littlest boy wakes up one morning puking to beat the band...and suddenly all of your super important plans for the rest of the week come to a screeching halt....and you end up living unshowered in your jammies for the next two days in a row trying to stay on top of life in general....

Sometimes...

sometimes these crappy events that happen back...to back...to back

maybe sometimes, they can be a little gift of mercy in disguise...

Because, sometimes....
It's really good to remember that I am really am dust. (Psalm 90:3)
And often, I need reminders that "all of my busy rushing really does end in nothing"... (Psalm 39:6)
And how readily I forget that "blessed is the man whose strength is in God alone"...(Psalm 84:5)

Sometimes I need a big old slap in the face - or three - to make me do an about-turn and fix my eyes back on my Author and Creator...back on the Only One who can even begin to sustain me in the first place.  Back to being reminded that "my agenda" is not the Be All and End All of life...

Sometimes, I need to be made to come to an abrupt stop.
Because I forget that hurry always empties the soul.
And racing, without a doubt, will make little hearts bleed raw.
And carelessness can lead to really embarrassing sins...and a whole lot of crow that needs to get eaten.

So today...
with a little boy all feverish and sick....and with my teeth still unbrushed at 3:00p.m....but with two big boys happy to have a "present" Mama...a "sitting still" Mama...and an appropriately "humbled Mama"... I am learning, once again the wise words of Elizabeth Elliot that:  "wherever you are, be all there."

Be present.
Slow and see.
Find the sacred in the chaos.
Put away the agenda.

And my heart echoes the cry of David....
"O Lord, I have cried out to You for help...and in the morning my prayer comes before You.  Confirm for me the work of my hands;  Yes, confirm the work of my hands...."

Here, is where God is.  In the present.
And this is where I need to be.
Bent down, eye level, truly listening, perceptive to little hearts, conscious of tender needs.
The hands and feet of Jesus.

Lessons learning...

And because His mercies are new every morning....

#4231.  No other option but to stop.
4232.  Humbled apologies...and tender forgiveness.
4233.  A day of jammies...and toast.
4234.  Three little boys...my heart and my soul.
4235.  A husband - perceptive....and forever gracious.
4236.  Taco suppers.
4237.  Loooong, healing naps for sick little boys.
4238.  A bath...and teeth brushed...before the hubby gets home.
4239.  Sweet imaginations...and gentle big brothers.
4230.  A Father - gentle with his daughter...and tender in His rebukes...
  

A Sliding Ditty.

*  In which all of the events of this wee poem may or may not be entirely factual...

Three little boys and a Mama - getting bigger ~
Sliding down hills where they take a lot of diggers.

The big prep.  SO not my favorite in the winter...

A whipping and a'gliding - doing face plants in the snow ~
Ransom takes one look and says:  "Um, I don't wanna' go!"

The obligatory cup of joy...I mean, joe.

Mama says:  "I'm with you!  This is crazy, freezing cold!"
Daddy says:  "You're wimpy - don't act like you're getting old..."

Oh really?  I reply - with a toss of chubby body.
I'll race you to the bottom.  Beating you?  Well, it's my hobby!

So, with the windchill racing 'round us, and our cheeks ablaze of red ~
We conquered all the hills - flying down them on our sleds.

We went until our fingers and our toes we couldn't feel.
And, the boys asked:  "Please?  Some more?"  And then I said, "Are you for REAL?!!"

Even Ransom wanted longer on the slopes to test his skillz.
Oldest Hoolies on their feet were getting good with standing drills.

So, we stayed until our bunzies turned to ice - then stayed some more...
Winter fun in Maine is bitter cold sometimes.  Oh - that's for SURE!

Finished strong with blazing fire, funny movie, cozy baths ~
The last time they were bathed?  I can't remember ~ shouldn't laugh...

Bathing Hoolies?  Not my strong point.  I always wait until they stink.
A little girl - will it be different?  Prob'ly should be, so I think...

Either way, my boys are clean now.  Family Day was sweet and long.
Fuzzy jammies, early bedtimes - now Kev and I can party on!

Bowl of cereal, game of Cribbage.  Feeling wild? - A cup of Joe.
In our beds by Ten?  Believe it!  We are getting old, you know...

Soon the Hoolies will awaken to another day of play ~
And my muscles will be achin' - memories of our Family Day.

Moving Forward.

A new calendar is up on my wall - fresh and blank - with its days ready to be filled in once again, as we take another new spin around the Sun.  For me at least, fresh starts and new beginnings always tend to bring about reflection and deeper thought.  I have flipped pages twelve times already...and now it's time to do it again.  Hard to believe, really.

I find that facebook status updates from friends have more depth these first few days of the new year, as well.  We all become more reflective - more thoughtful - as we try to encapsulate 365 days into one or two concise sentences that give a nice, round review of what last year was like for us.  2012 for some, held deep pain and heavy loss.  For others, it brought new life and fresh changes.  And for many - if not most - it brought a little bit of both, perhaps.  I think that no matter how the year panned out...twelve months of living life with all of its joys and heartaches - with chapters of both happy and crappy, and with seasons of living and others of maybe just barely surviving...life - for all of us - can't ever be summed up in just a matter of sentences.

It's too complex.

I think that's why I hate summary posts and why I shy away from sweeping statements that are intended to cover the whole of a life.

This past year I had some shining moments as a mother...and others where I was a mess.
There were months when life was full and fulfilling...and there were seasons of significant pain.
There were times when I had the patience of Job...and others where it resembled something more along the lines of a rabid dog.
Times when I was happy, secure, and content....and times when comparison took it all away.
Times when I didn't have a care in the world as to what people thought of us and of the decisions we were making...and times when people's words and actions kind of sidelined us for a bit.
Times where I have filled little love tanks...and times, like today, where I have crushed spirits with my careless words and thoughtless actions....

Times of good and times of really bad.
Time of joy and times of pain.
Time of grace and times of rashness.
New chapters and fresh beginnings...right along with a whole lot of the same old, same old.

That's life.
And I wonder just how powerful "perspective" is in all of it...

I came across a verse today that just might be my theme for this new year.
It's actually kind of a creepy "stand alone" verse.
II Peter 2:19 ~ "By what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved."
Kind of morbid, really...

But when I backtrack up to the chapter previous... I see the promise that Christ's "divine power has granted to us everything {we could possibly need} pertaining to life and godliness...and if we apply diligence in our faith, moral excellence, knowledge and self-control, perseverance and godliness, brotherly kindness and love.....as long as we practice these things, we will never stumble."

And God is gracious.
He asks us to "practice" them...not necessarily "perfect" them.
He knows we are dust.

And I wonder...if these "practices" could become the theme of my life...might I become "enslaved" to these very qualities in which I am often so sorely lacking?  Could I become so "over"-come by these qualities that I could maybe trade out....

comparison for contentment?
joy for jealousy?
grace for legalism?
an on-fire faith and godliness for lazy apathy?
self-control for anything but that?
kindness and love in exchange for biting words and harshness that causes little hearts to bleed raw?

I wonder...

In the midst and the mess of the mundane and the chaos that will surely have their moments of reigning supreme in this next year....amidst the dishes and the laundry....and the perpetual ordering and re-ordering of our lives...in the midst of these days of raising crazy, messy boys.... in the thick of plugged potties and kitchen spills...of faltering attempts at homeschooling...of working to slow and to see and to find each day's sacred joys smack in the middle of the mess and the busted up attempts of a woman walking raw...

...and in the re-learning of life and routine that will come with a new baby and a brand new job for Kev...
I whisper with the blind beggar, "Lord, I want to see." (Luke 18:41)
Might I be "overcome" with the things of You...."enslaved" by Your Grace, alone...

#4221.  A year of grace - a year of gifts.
4222.  A year of growing, of learning, and of letting go.
4223.  A season of soul surgery.
4224.  Leaps of faith - and taking risks....and yet, with Jesus nothing is ever a risk...
4225.  New beginnings - baby and job...and a brand new year with a fresh, clean slate.
4226.  Forgetting those things which are behind...
4227.  Family - mothers, fathers, brothers, cousins - and no-matter-what-unconditional-love
4228.  A home messy and imperfect - and one that hears "I am sorry," often.
4229.  Three boys - living and learning life together.
4230.  Jesus - tugging, ever faithful, drawing me always to Himself.

~ My Joy Journey ~

My Merry Gift of Glory.

This year for Christmas, Kev gave me a treasure of a gift...

He (well, "he" meaning "me" - but "he" meaning "he" bought the gift...  Smell my cookin?") printed off one year of my blog and had it made into a book for me.  And I absolutely love it.  As far as "crafty/sentimental/keepsake" Mom's go - on a scale of one to ten - I think I fall somewhere right in the middle.

I do a fairly detailed scrapbook for them up until the age of two.  And I think the only reason why I picked that magically random age of two is because that's how far I did Kaden's baby book -- and I have always said that what I do for one child, I will do for all the rest.  So, anyway, each of their lives are scrapbooked in fairly decent detail until they are two...and then...well, it's kind of like they died or something.  Other than a Christmas album that I do a page or two in every year - I don't do anything else with albums for my kids.

Not sure why.  I think I'm just pretty impressed with myself for getting that far in their lives.

However.
There is that measure of Mama guilt that I feel when I remember that nowhere do they have pictures or recorded memories of first teeth falling out, of potty training, of first days of school, etc. etc. etc.  It's like they just don't exist anymore.  And while I am getting very good at giving myself big baths of grace, and of learning not to compare, and of giving myself a big dose of reality in knowing that none of my three boys anyway, will probably give a flying flip about taking these ginormous baby album scrapbooks with them into their own homes someday...

I still want our life to be remembered.

Enter this little deal-io shmeal-io of delight.

This works for me on so many levels.  First of all, I pretty much started blogging right around when Kaden turned two.  SO.  If I go back through the years, and print each year all the way from the beginning...there's really no gap.  And another thing - if you print your blog through blog2print - the entire process takes about twenty minutes.  And for me, time is money, Baby.

There is another printing company out there, as well called Blurb, and if you're feeling super crafty and you have a little more time on your hands, Blurb allows you more creative freedom than blog2print.  It allows you to choose the layout of each page and to choose exactly where you want your pictures placed.  It's more of a true online scrapbook.  Blog2print gives you only two options:  have it printed exactly the way your blog is laid out online, or have it printed in the most space-saving way - thus having some of your pictures maybe placed not exactly the way that you laid them out when you posted; however - potentially saving you significant money - as you pay per page after the initial  $19.99 for a 20-40 page scrapbook.

I chose the most space-effective way, because I write a lot of posts in a year.  So, you can see in the picture above - this two page spread has a lot of my text on one page and then all of my pictures on the other.

Next year, when I print my blog again, I may choose to have it printed exactly the way I write my posts and just see how much of a difference in cost it is.  Other than that, however, I am more than pleased with the quality of this book.  The pictures are crisp, the pages are thick and shiny, and the book is a nice, solid, hearty, able-to-withstand-many-hands-looking-at-it kind of a book.

And the time it took me to put it together?  Twenty minutes.  Max.
I chose the cover, chose the title, chose the front picture, chose the back picture, and wrote a dedication.
Sha-zam!

These days, THAT'S my kind of style...
Get in.  Get out.  Get 'er done, Baby.
Easy sneezy.

And while this blog is more of a journal of their Mama's journey through life, I still write about each one of them and about our family's highlights.  It's more of a day to day snapshot of our family and our life, and it's something that I would love for them to have when they are grown and when I am gone.

And it also makes me happy to have a solid copy of my heart on paper - in my hands - should our computer ever crash.  I'm kind of old school like that...

So, for those friends who blog but who don't scrapbook...I just thought I'd pass this info and my review along - for what it's worth.  This will indeed be my Christmas and my birthday presents for many years to come.

Oh!  And!  Should you be interested in doing this...learn from my mistakes.  While you are choosing your cover, dedication, etc. etc....wait a bit of time between your start and your finish and ordering.  Blog2print will see you working on your project...and they will sent a nifty little "free shipping" coupon into your email box.  Amy, however, in all of her zealousness went from start to finish like it was a wild rat race, failed to have a little patience in waiting an extra day, failed to check her inbox in the meantime, and paid full shipping.

Well, "Amy" meaning "Kevin" paid for this.  Ahem.

Joy to the world and all things glorious.
But Kev thinks I'm worth it.
I think.
Merry Christmas to me, anyway...

And now for a confession....
Blog2Print offers rewards if we recommend friends to their company.  So, if you are receiving offers in your inbox...I do confess...those are because of me.  Sorry if they hound you for life, and feel free to delete at will.  But, if you ever do choose to print your blog into a book ~ I would love you forever if you told them your dear friend Amy recommended you....

Thus endeth my commercial.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Wee Beginnings.

With the crazy of Christmas finally starting to die down just a bit, with the tree back outside ready to be christened into a bonfire, and with the gifts all happily finding new homes in all of their respective places ~ this is the time where I always tend to see things through fresh eyes.  Now is when I get inspired to make things feel just a little bit new and different around here.

The house feels more empty and more streamlined, the decorations are all tucked away again, and with the freshly fallen snow and winter finally and fully - really and truly- upon us...this is the time that I always like to try and make HOME feel just a little more cozy for the upcoming long winter's run that we're in for until March, anyway...

And now that I am settled nicely into the second half of my pregnancy...well, things have begun changing even more around this here house.  For one thing...there's a new little picture sitting above our fireplace mantle.

And as far as nurseries go, at least for the first little while, London will be rooming upstairs with Mommy and Daddy.  I always keep my babies by my bedside in a little Moses basket for the first few weeks, anyway.  But, this time around ~ there were no spare rooms in the Inn...so we shall be sharing our space together for a little bit longer.

Eventually, I plan to move all three Hoolies upstairs and just give them that entire space to themselves.  It's a wide open loft space, essentially ~ with plenty of room for three little boys and all of their treasures, complete with their very own bathroom and two, deep walk-in closets.  That's always been my "down the road" dream ~ once Ransom's schedule is more on the same track with the older two.  Right now, he still takes a marathon nap every afternoon and he usually sleeps at least an hour later in the morning.  I'm not ready to sacrifice those things, just yet.  But, in time, I envision bunk beds and forts...and maybe even a swing up there.

And, so - just as there would be plenty of room for three little boys ~ there is more than enough room for a Mama and Daddy and a wee little girl.  There's a tiny little "nook" at the top of our stairs, that now will belong to her...at least for the time being.

Please excuse the Jeep pack'n'play...

I am just in the beginning stages of gathering.

Since our first two were "surprises," and we didn't find out what we were having, I have quite a few things that are "uni" ~ including a couple of sweet little blankets that easily have enough "feminine" colors in them to pass my mother's test of being suitable for a little girl.

I plan to line the deacon's bench with a couple of baskets, and to use old crates and tins for storage.  I will take down Kev's and my initial's off of the corkboard, and use that to decorate with pictures and memories of family and special things.

And I'll fill baskets and old dresser drawers with all of the essentials that any new baby needs.

Cute expression.  Hoping it's not true with this one...

Baby steps, we are taking.
Testing the waters on this whole baby girl idea...and still trying to find out what exactly our "style" shall be.
I am so deeply entrenched in Little Boy World, that I am still wrapping my brain around this whole idea.

But, slowly...slowly....as my belly grows, and as my baby kicks....as her little space continues to morph with every passing day...and as we talk - my boys and I - about this new little life soon to join our family.... my heart is falling oh so deeply and oh so fast.

And the nesting begins...