New 'Do

Finally, I had tohe time and energy to give Zoe a bit a of a hairdo. Nothing special, but I wanted to see if it was long enough to put in some puffs. As you can see by her blue lips, she needed to be bribed to stop screaming and sit still :)

The parts aren't too good, but I am pleased that we even got them in at all. The pictures don't do her justice. She looks pretty darn cute with her hair up!

Breakfast

I am not a morning person! Why am I always confessing things here??? Anyway, I am REALLY not a morning person! Why, you may ask, do I get up at 5:30 in the morning if I am NOT A MORNING PERSON? Well, I get up at 5:30 BECAUSE I am NOT A MORNING PERSON. You see, I cannot be civil until I have been up for at least two hours. If you think I am kidding, ask my husband. He knows not to talk to me until, say, nine o'clock. So, if I want to be a loving, kind mother to my dear children when they rise out of their snugly beds in the morning (which I really do) I better get up at least an hour and a half before they come tumbling out. It works very well, thank you very much.

Anyway, because I am NOT a morning person, making breakfast can prove to be a task on par with climbing Mount Everest for me. So, to make my morning easier I do a lot of prep the night before. This morning I made muffins (whole wheat chocolate chip, for those who care). Last night, I left the counter looking like this...Than when I stumble into the kitchen in the morning, I just need to add the "wet" ingredients and waa-laa muffins. Even so, I have been known to crack an egg into the garbage can, drop an egg on the floor or drop an egg on the counter top (can you see I have egg problems in the morning?) This morning it was on the counter top and I was able to salvage it (last time it was on the floor, I didn't salvage that one). Anyway, the muffins were tasty although they don't rise too well with all whole wheat. Alas, they tasted good anyway. There you have it!

Pick-A-Pile

It's Friday, so it's time to play pick-a-pile! This week I have chosen a tough pile (I can' t believe I actually post my messes for the world to see!) You see, we have an island in our kitchen (think more along the lines of New Zealand than Bora Bora - it's big! Ten feet long big, literally). This island is far from deserted, it is where everyone and everything gathers. There is pretty much at least one person there for the entire day. This is where we eat breakfast and lunch and it is where 90% of all crafts, art projects and cooking projects are done. It is also where the mail gets put. Now, I know some of you reading this are neat-people - prepare yourselves so you don't have a coronary or something...


Why would I pick such a monstrous pile? Well, there are several reasons
1) I didn't do a pile last week, so this kind of counts as two.
2) It's raining and yucky outside.
3) I'm in a purging mood.
4) Evan has his book club tomorrow (not that a bunch of teenage boys would really care what my island looks like, as long as I feed them, they're good.
5) We are having some of Raelea's birth family over for dinner (not that they care either, but at least we won't have to push things out of the way to sit at the island).

Btw, Deb, that's your Chai tea in the foreground. I will get it to you soon :)


TAA DAA

Don't you think the cake on the island is a nice touch? Thanks to Daniel and family for that!

Thrift Store

I thought I would post a link to the thrift store I mentioned in my post yesterday. That way, you can check it out yourself and, if you are in MN, feel free to donate stuff to them or stop by and see what they are offering.

Here it is Hidden Treasures (click on the name and it will get you to their website)

Pictures

So, I haven't posted pictures in awhile. Sorry. Here are a few from our week.
Nina, Molly & I all tried out new recipes. They made a Key Lime Pie and I made Rotini with Chicken, Asparagus & Tomato. Both were very nummy!Aidan made a new fort.
Emily & Marcus share a hug after much fun playing!

Pack Rat

I confess: I am a pack-rat. I save everything and anything that I might some day need again. I wash ziploc bags and plastic cups to use over again. I save scraps of fabric in case I ever have time to quilt. I've saved some college textbooks in case Evan might need them as reference books (that has actually helped him with his Chemistry this year). You name it, I save it. This helps explain why there will be no shortage of pick-a-piles anytime in the near future (or the distant future for that matter).

Anyway, every once in awhile, quite rarely actually, I get in the throw-it-out-or-give-it-away mode. Well, now is one of those rare seasons and I am going through closets, etc. and getting rid of stuff. Boy, does that feel good. Three things motivated me this time; one, our church has opened a thrift store and they are taking donations to stock their shelves; two, I can't fit the kids clothes in their closets because they have TOO MANY clothes and three, we are feeling a little cramped in our house now that there are ten of us here. I really can't complain too much about that last one though as I have friends who have eight of them (with one more on the way) living in 900 sq. ft. We aren't nearly that cramped, so I will just keep my mouth shut!

Whatever the reason, me getting rid of things is a good thing. I will take a picture of all the stuff we are getting rid of and post it sometime this weekend! This is kind of fun :) I think I'll go right now and find something to get rid of...the pets are not an option. although they seem to wander off on their own...

Minutiae

As a SAHM and a homeschool mom it's easy to get caught up in the minutiae of life: the changing of diapers, feeding of kids, correcting math worksheets, etc. Ninety percent of what I write about on this blog is about just that (not that that is a bad thing, as I find the minutiae of life quite amusing much of the time). It's just that I can easily lose sight of the BIG picture. This morning, as I was reading my Bible, I found a passage that reminded me that even the minutiae has a purpose beyond the obvious.


Here it is -
"If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer." 2 Corinthians 1:6

So, my thoughts were - my afflictions and the comfort received in the is for Gods glory, my joy AND the comfort of others. My life circumstances and situations are never for me alone. There is a high and holy purpose behind each event of my day, evan changing diapers and driving children hither and thither. Okay, I'm off to the high and holy job of feeding the kids breakfast!