Wordless Wednesday - The Toothfairy is going Broke!

Puddle Jumping

I love watching spring rain fall outside my windows. As a somewhat practical adult, my delight tends to stay safe inside appreciating the soothing sound of falling rain, delighting in the green it brings as well as the added coziness that creeps into my kitchen.

And while there is nothing wrong with enjoying a spring rain from the inside, my children know better than to stop there. Spring rains are meant to be played in. The residue the waters leave behind are meant to be exploited to the fullest. I love the layers children add to my life.

Recently, a torrential springtime downpour transformed our backyard it into a temporary water park.

So out they tromped, grabbing the opportunity to put their new galoshes to good use.

And while the water quickly turned to mud...

Springtime memories were created.

A moment which may be forgotten by the little minds who inspired and made it happen, but this mamma's heart won't forget. An all-too practical adult spending the afternoon splashing in puddles. A sprinkle of childhood. A gift to unwrap.

My Cup 2 Yours is talking about Spring today. Hop on over to read more!

Wordless Wednesday - Sean's Stockpile... I just can't figure out where he got that idea...

Then again when I look at the work of his brothers...






Or his Dad...

The Final Stage of Pregnancy

Do you remember that stage of pregnancy?

The one at the very end. When the new baby's arrival is imminent.

That point when you tell yourself baby could come at any time, even though realistically she won't for at least a couple more weeks.

That stage when you are ready. Ready for baby to come. yesterday. Even though it means sleepless nights, diaper changes and a complete disruption of life as you know it.

That stage where almost every thought is directed toward baby. Where the Internet feeds your obsession via searches on baby products and blogs. Lots of blogs on babies.

Do you remember that stage?

I AM SO THERE.

We still have a few more hoops to jump through before Travel Approval comes our way. Hopefully around the first of June we will be on our way to China.

I am waiting. Not so patiently waiting if I'm being honest.

Because I am ready to bring my girl home.

NOW!

Dealing with Ordinary

Life can be mundane, if you let it.

Ordinary days filled with the same old, same old. Same routines, same chores, same battles.

Every so often a little taste of different comes along. A trip. An outing. A conversation with an old friend. Something a little out of the ordinary. Something as small as the first walk of spring after a long winter.

These tastes of different bring flavor to ordinary days, but sometimes its hard to seek out the different and let it overpower the ordinary, even for a moment.

The ordinary takes over. Covering life like a thick wool blanket. Making the future seem like nothing more then more of the same. A little bit of Ecclesiastics thinking creeps in, you know the "meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless" kind of thinking?

Have you ever been there?

Even with the adventure of China and bringing Suhn home, the fear of living nothing more than an ordinary life grips me.

And then I read about Brother Lawrence and some much needed perspective comes breezing in, removing the wool blanket.

Do you know Brother Lawrence? He was a monk whose job for 15 years was washing pots and pans. A simple, unglamourous job. The SAME job for 15 years.

And this is what he said,

"My day-t0-day life consists of giving God my simple loving attention."

He also said, "We should offer our work to Him before we begin, and thank Him afterwards for the privilege of having done them for His sake."

And that, I believe is the secret to an extraordinary, un-ordinary life. It is not so much in what we do with our day-to-day, but the attitude we do it with as we remember who we do it for.

Whether he calls us to do "great things" or places us in obscurity, we need to remember we are living in the presence of God and that every action we take, no matter how small, is for His sake.

This practice of living in His presence brings joy and purpose to the most mundane of lives and that is an extraordinary thing!


*Brother Lawrence quotes were taken from the book God, Discover His Character by Bill Bright.

Wordless Wednesday - It's time to break out the mower!

The No Monster

He looks innocent enough. To the untrained eye he can be as sweet as pie,

but lurking beneath those baby blue eyes is a dark side. A monster hidden just below the surface...


If you ask his name, he'll gladly tell you. He's had lots of practice.

One word... NO.


Grandmas may try to come to his defense. They may even deny that a monster lurks beneath the surface of their darling grand baby ready to defy and terrify those who cross his path.

Don't believe them. They've been suckered by the disarming smile, baby soft skin and toddler-like, hug-delivering hands. He's got them wrapped around his peanut butter-laced fingers. Right where he wants them.

But I'm not fooled. I've seen the cold, hard evidence. The no-monster has reared his ugly head one to many times for me to deny his existence.

If you risk exposing yourself to him for any length of time, you'll see what I mean. Years of being the baby have made him an expert at his craft. Cross him the wrong way and he will spit up a NO faster than you can say burp rag. He knows thousands of different ways to say it. Each tone specially created to get his point across. He uses them often. He uses them well.

Some say knowing is half the battle. Others retort a good offence is the best defence. In my experience the best way to send the no monster into hiding is this: Sit tight and stick to your guns.


In my little no-monsters life, this line of defence looks a lot like this:



You'd think sitting in the "time-out chair" for extended periods of time would be enough to chase the no-monster away for good.


You'd think...




Unfortunately, the mind of a toddler will always be a mystery.


Consider yourself warned.