Sometimes...

Sometimes something totally unexpected happens. Totally unexpected. Like, really, totally unexpected. Recently I wrote to "Miss Cote de Texas" to ask a design question about our new home. I hoped she'd answer, but told myself not to get too excited. What were the odds? I'm sure she gets gobs of emails with design questions...

I've read Joni's blog, Cote de Texas, for years. It's a big treat. She features beautiful homes and every entry is full of gorgeous photographs. I usually save her posts for a quiet evening or the weekend when I can sit in front of my computer and soak up all she has to share. I've learned tons from her about everything from "The Houston Look" to the proper names for certain furniture pieces. She's a wealth of information and is an extremely talented designer. 

So when she emailed me with an answer to my question, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. Joni Webb of Cote de Texas answered my design question!!!! I was thrilled. Completely thrilled! Only, a few days later, Joni posted the pictures I'd sent and wrote in much greater detail her suggestions for my design query. I was elated! Her readers offered one suggestion after another. It was amazing and so much fun and gave The Engineer and I so much to think about!

Later that same day, she emailed me and asked if she could feature the home we just moved from. Y'all. I just about died. It was such a combination of being totally pumped and then fear - because she's a legit, for real, interior designer. And she has incredible taste. And her readers - many of them are professionals. And if they read Joni's blog, they obviously have good taste. And she wanted to post pictures of our home on her blog. And I'd already shot the photos and we don't live there anymore, so I couldn't go back and reshoot with big beautiful plants and gorgeous flower arrangements. I couldn't attempt to stage it like the magazines do. But oh, the opportunity! And the compliment it is that Joni would even be interested! Of course I said "yes!" 

She wrote a very kind entry featuring our home. I am pumped and humbled all at once. It's brought back such sweet memories.

If you have a few minutes, I'd love for you to check it out...

Cote de Texas

What Up People

Hey y'all. I think about being here quite often...and then life takes priority. Today has been super fun! Lots and lots of paper work and phone calls - all my very favorite things to do! (I'm completely kidding. Going to the dentist might be the only thing I like less.)

We're getting ready to upgrade our computer system so we can keep using mobileme - soon to be icloud - because it rocks and syncs our calendars and contacts. It does tons more, but those two features alone have saved us SO MANY fights and SO MUCH miscommunication! In preparing, I'm backing up the ol' computer and came across these sweet photos. They take me back.

I love this one...right before Little Bit arrived!

In other news we've had another exciting few days!

Our precious neighbors' son (from before the move) has come to stay the week.

Little Man shut down the computer at the library...claimed he typed in a secret code. Nice. That was after he squirted soap all over his hands, arms, and the bathroom floor.

Little Bit had a throw down tantrum IN the library. Made my scalp tingle.

Next we stopped at Publix.

Our friend decided to demonstrate his mad running skills and tripped and slid a good five feet on his fanny. He had a look of utter embarrassment across his face - until I told him I thought his slide rocked. Then he popped up with a smile. And I reminded the children why we don't run in Publix.

We made it to checkout and Little Man decided to scale the side of the completely loaded shopping cart...Little Bit was in the front seat. Were it not for my super ninja skills, we'd have had a complete loss. I caught the buggy just in time. And then received horrified looks from all in sight. I broke out in a sweat. The bagger didn't even offer to help me to the car. I left kind of mad - like, haven't ANY of you been in this spot before? Just a gentle look. A smile. A knowing nod of the head? Nope. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

We went to Sams next...and the children were PERFECTLY behaved. I even had two people compliment me on my well behaved children. One man approached me and asked if they were all mine?

"No sir. This one (pointing to our friend) is visiting."

"But you keep them all?"

"Well, just for this week."

"How do you do it? Our daughter-in-law can't do this. She's not capable. This is amazing. I mean, she just can't handle it."

And I wanted to DECK the guy! Instead I said, "Sir, you didn't see us an hour ago at Publix." And I walked away. (And then thought of about eighteen things I wish I'd said instead.) And since then I've thought of how gracious God was to me during that trip to Sams.

Yesterday I saw TWO snakes in our yard! I was raking and sent one flying onto the driveway - I called the kids and we studied it from a distance. No idea what kind. I've got some research to do. And now I'm a little shy with the rake and hedge trimmer.

Here, you bag your yard debris. This is new for us, but a sure way to measure how much yard work one has completed. Yesterday I bagged nine large bags...and got a whopper of a yellow jacket sting right above my knee. Which is where I've been stung the only two other times I've ever been stung - both times in my car WHILE driving. What are the odds? I think I screamed a string of ugly words. I couldn't get baking soda on it fast enough. I smashed that sucker bare handed.

Little Man carved his name into the dining room table. I'm secretly glad he did. It's like a permanent reminder he was here...and once a little boy. Though I'd never admit my gladness to him. The Engineer says we know who will inherit the dining room table. Ha.

Little Man also wrote his name in orange marker on his desk. And traced the outline of his most prized possession - his multi-tool. (The Engineer removed the knife piece. As a result, the fingernail file stands in as a knife. And is quite warped.)

Little Bit colored a nice picture on the breakfast room table. It's sure to wear off in a few weeks. She also cut up Sister's fabric measuring tape.

Sister is making an "Egyptian Room" in her bedroom - think dolls wrapped in toilet paper as mummies...yarn strung across every surface - you've got to have spider webs, you know.

Yesterday I heard all the children screaming and I went running...Little Bit had stripped completely down to nothing and was jumping on the trampoline. Seriously.

We're almost settled. I keep saying that. This morning I caught myself enjoying our house...walking through the rooms with a smile on my face. It's good to be nearly there.

This moving business has had me thinking a lot about how temporary our time on earth is...and on how much work moving is...and how much stuff we have...and how I long for freedom from stuff, but how stuff serves a purpose, too. And about how the world is harsh and hard and this, this place we call home, this is our oasis, our shelter from the storms and our safe place to weather the storms. By God's grace and with His help, I want to make it a place of beauty for our family - and for our friends. I want it to be a sweet and safe place where our children long to be. I want it to be a place my husband longs for when he is away.

Making those desires a reality requires a lot of work. Yesterday I forgot that work is a gift from God. Adam and Eve worked in the garden before the fall. Work is a gift from God...given in a perfect world when there was no sin. God told them to "fill the earth, have dominion over it, and subdue it" and later we read God "took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it."While I'm not entirely convinced dusting and toilet scrubbing would've been part of Eve's repertoire - and I'm betting animals didn't shed pre-fall!-I am convinced, because His word tells us, that God is glorified in the mundane...that I can seek to do all things - the washing and drying and folding, washing the dishes, dusting, sweeping up another tuft of dust and dog hair, the disciplining of my children - to His glory. These tasks aren't meaningless. They are part of His grand plan.

So anyway, yesterday I forgot that work is a gift. And I was quite discontent. And I yelled at my husband for playing on his ipod instead of washing dishes. And then it hit me, "work is a gift from God."

Hello, Hello!

Hi.

I've been missing y'all.

I shot that wedding I'd mentioned. It was a family wedding.

I was so, so nervous. I kept dreaming someone knocked my camera off the tripod and broke it and I didn't have a backup and we didn't get any pictures of the wedding day. Seriously, dreamed that a few times.

I prayed and prayed God would help me think through every click of a dial, through every adjustment, that I'd use my equipment well, and that I'd capture it all in a way they'd be thrilled with.

I sweated a LOT. I learned a LOT.

A word about The Engineer...I couldn't have done it without him. He toted everything, held the camera when my arms were exhausted, chased the sun and bounced the light right where I needed it. He was amazing. Indispensable. He was my biggest fan, my encourager. Definitely my better half.

I am so thankful to the Lord for the results and I hope, hope, hope the family feels like we captured the day well.

I'm going to give you a running update between wedding pictures.

I have zero pictures of my own children from the last two weeks of our lives. Every camera card I had was full...full of wedding pics. I was terrified of deleting them. I have since burned them all to disc and cleared off the memory cards.

We spent a week in Vidalia. The Engineer led his assessment and he kicked rear.

He completely rocked the entire thing. Got only positive comments.

The kids and I bedded down in the hotel...

Sister spent the first night throwing up. I literally got on my knees and pleaded with God to spare the rest of our family. And He did. And we gave thanks.

On night two, Little Bit ate a tube of toothpaste. I felt like a great mom. Poison Control was most helpful. Thankfully, it was a travel tube and she hadn't consumed enough to be "toxic." A little milk and a lot of tears later (because I took the tube away and used a towel to scrub out her mouth) and she was just fine.

Day three brought an exciting morning thanks to a horrific sound in the walls...like every pipe was going to burst. Little Bit was up and has taken quite an interest in the potty. She had just flushed it when the noise began. And I hadn't been in there with her.

I wasn't sure what, but I was sure she'd flushed something...so I called the front desk.

Maintenance was already on the way. Only, they couldn't find anything wrong in our bathroom.

I was relieved to learn it was the man upstairs. Not us. Whew.

Day four had it's own excitement. We'd just finished drying off after a long afternoon at the hotel pool when Little Bit declared she was going swimming again. I, of course, told her "no."

She looked me in the eye and walked right over to the pool steps. I was standing across the pool from her and told her again, "NO."

Without taking her eyes off mine she defiantly stepped into the pool...only she lost her balance and though she was on the steps and could touch, she couldn't right herself. She just thrashed, face down. I ran and jumped and cleared almost half the pool and swam the rest of the way to her. It was scary. Really, really scary. She gasped and threw up some water.

As soon as I could see she was breathing and would be fine I looked her in the eyes and said at least five times, "I told you not to get in the pool."

We got to spend some time on a farm feeding and petting horses. The same sweet friends who took us to the farm treated me and the children to dinner twice (The Engineer worked some loooong days) and enlisted the children's help decorating their Christmas tree.

We've been home for a week and my every spare moment has consisted of finishing freelance projects.

And I've been reminded afresh of why I quit freelance and why I just need to say "no."

Nausea has set in and I am so thankful for God's gracious provision. It hasn't been nearly as bad as with the others. I think the fact that we waited so long for this precious baby has made the sickness more bearable.

Last night, at 10:30 I told The Engineer I was super hungry. He went to Krystals for chili cheese fries and a cherry slush. That is so gross, I know. It tasted SO good to me. That's the first just, disgusting choice I've made food wise. Hopefully the last.

I cried a few nights ago. I felt rotten. Nauseated. I told The Engineer I felt like a terrible mother...no energy for playing with the kids...I felt like I was doing everything halfway. I was grumpy during homeschool. Just kind of a punk in general.

He held me and reminded me this is only a season. This too, shall pass. And he has been so supportive. So sweet. I love that man. With every pregnancy his compassion and love and kindness seem to grow.

I'm re-reading The Mission Of Motherhood because it was like a balm to my soul the first time I read it and my soul needs some balm right now.

It's the kind of book that reminds you why you're doing what you're doing...why this whole mothering thing is eternal business. That God is glorified in what feels like the mundane.

Right now, I need to be reminded of that. That God is glorified in the mundane...in the washing of dishes and clothes.

He is glorified in the vacuuming and the mopping, in correcting the umpteenth math paper...in reminding Little Man for the millionth time that there is only one Q in the alphabet.

So here's to a new and fresh week. Here's to living life in full color. Here's to noticing and seeing. And here's to washing dishes and pouring milk and even bouts of nausea - to the glory of God.

Chop Chop

Have I told y'all you're wonderful? Thank you for your continued sweet and thoughtful comments and emails. Y'all are precious. Who ever thought bloggging would become such a source of encouragement?  Y'all rock. My heart still yearns, but the Lord is also graciously working, making me a little bit more content with where we are right now. For that, I am thankful. And please, keep praying for us!

It's been a whirlwind of a week and a half! 

Sister and I have been growing our hair out for a looooong time. We'd planned to get it chopped at the same time and donate. But, Sister kept chickening out. A few months ago, I went on and got mine whacked. It was too long. It was time. Twelve inches...gone. I am loving the shorter length. Definitely cooler for the summer. I'm not so crazy about the time required to style it...so I fix it twice a week. Usually. (Wednesdays and Sundays) - The poor Engineer! I should probably do something about that! You know, make the effort to look good for my man! (Ok, now I'm feeling convicted.)

So Friday afternoon, Sister was in tears as I brushed out the tangles. An all-too-familiar scene.

For the one hundred and ninety-ninth time I said, "If you would just get it cut you wouldn't have all these tangles," expecting to hear back for the one hundred and ninety-ninth time, "No! I want to grow it out a little bit longer." BECAUSE...a certain boy said he wasn't sure he'd like her hair cut short..

But instead, she said, "Let's go NOW and get it cut!"

But "NOW" wasn't a possibility for the lady who cuts our hair. So I did the only sane thing. I did what any mother who's been brushing out tangles to tears - trying to pick her battles - would do. 

I rubber-banded all that hair into mini ponytails (to get the most length for donating purposes). I measured...9 inches...I took the scissors, and I CUT! I can still hear the scissors slicing their way through her thick hair.

And she giggled. 

And kept saying, "Oh Mom! Oh Mom!"

Nine inches of healthy, beautiful hair. She's donating to Pantene Beautiful Lengths and hopes it will go to "a mommy who needs it!"

Just moments after, Little Man and The Engineer entered the bathroom declaring Little Man was ready for a buzz. He is darling and I am happy he is happy and feels grown up, but oh, how I miss that adorable bowl cut!

We shampooed after the cut...

Little Man shampooed, too, and then tried to hide in the closet so I wouldn't take his picture.

While all that was going on, Sister slipped upstairs to get ready for dinner. She came down with GREEN eyeshadow, a light pink top, white cropped sweater, her purse, jean shorts, and her camo cowgirl boots. I was speechless. What to say? I did suggest she remove the green eyeshadow before we headed to dinner.

And...I dropped the ball on this one. Sweet Amelia from meandmybrightsides did a little blurb on our casa. A week ago. She said some really sweet things. Thanks for having us Amelia!

Happy Wednesday, y'all!