9.20.2012

wednesday nights.

a few weeks ago my husband proposed that we make wed. nights
'family night'. 
a reason to share a bit of his seminary education and my creativity w/our 'trio. 
{or watch a movie together, eat ice cream, discuss quantum physics, explore a new instrument, even stop into banana republic to buy dad-ers a sweet new suit.}
needless to say, i LOVED the idea and we finally dove in last night!  (=

the 5 of us gathered on the living room rug and A2 pulled out four books:

1. his bible
2. our favorite illustrated bible 
3. the bhagavad gita
and 4.  what the buddha taught [you can imagine L's reaction to the word 'buddha'.  uproarious.]

he started out by asking them what the first two were, to which they responded,
'the bible'

what is different about these 2 bibles?

which one is the 'real' bible?

which one is 'right'?

we were amazed and moved to smile at the answers given by our 3. 

A2 then asked about the latter.
He explained that in our home, we are taught that the Bible is our guide,
that this is God's Holy Word. 

but in other countries
like china,
or india,
they are taught that these other books are to guide them. 

he posed the question:  is this okay?
leading them to think on whether what we are taught is right simply because
it is the way we were brought up to believe.

he asked them why we send missionaries into other countries to teach them about the Bible,
if they already have their own stories that they know,
that they grow up learning and listening to. 

answers changed,
thoughts became deeper,
and then L said this:

'there is only ONE God.'

A2 grabbed this comment and a few insights of the girls',
and brought forth the word
UNIQUE.


unique

 adjective \y-ˈnēk\

Definition of UNIQUE

1
: being the only one : sole <his unique concern was his own comfort> <I can't walk away with a unique copy. Suppose I lost it? — Kingsley Amis> <the unique factorization of a number into prime factors>
2
a : being without a like or equal : unequaled <could stare at the flames, each one new, violent, unique — Robert Coover>




b : distinctively characteristic : peculiar 1 <this is not a condition unique to California — Ronald Reagan>
he told them that our God,
Creator,
is unique.

that He is the only One.
and that the Bible is His
love story
to us.

That our God is the only God who transcends heaven and earth
and became a man,
walked with us,
to become our ultimate sacrifice.

fully God.
fully man.

i loved this time w/our fam.
i loved the questions that were raised in our children.
i loved the answers that were thought out and given out of wisdom by both daddy and his 'trio.

i love it that the next thing we did was to make these:


filled with these:


and hung them on our [swinging!] kitchen door


so that each morning, A, 'B, and L 
can grab one out and start their day 
praying for people in a country that may not have a bible available to them,
that may have grown up, or are growing up, being taught something different than
what we know.


what are you praying for today?


9.12.2012

hiatus.

i've been forced to think on the brevity of life this week.
which moved me to go through older photos of my crew.
for no other reason than to remind me of how precious and swift is every moment.

and so we should devour EVERY ONE with reckless abandon!  (=

these made my heart skip a beat--for more reasons than one.
{love you ladies and kiddos that made this place so irreplaceable.}































ahh, life. 
how truly sweet it is.

(=








8.22.2012

my cello girl.

my beautiful A is growing up so sweetly.

here are a few pics of her new love:  George.






isn't he handsome?
(=


8.15.2012

first day in pictures.



safety patrol captain.




happy homecoming.


(=


sisters.


best friends.


forever.


who could ask for more?
(=



8.11.2012

crayons

we've been on a bit of a creativity binge around here,
so you can assume the housework is lacking.....

(=

anyway, this was last week's project:


peeled crayons


melted crayons


arranged crayons


poured melted crayons into plastic molds/cookie cutters on a platter.


[a christmas platter]
(=


baked @220 degrees for about 15 min./until melted completely.



arranged.
and played with.
(=


this was a super fun project!
and a suggestion for indoor activities for all ages.  

enjoy!  (=






8.06.2012

wall art

this weekend i spent a lot of time
with my sister [soon to be first-time-mama!]
and my mom.

my sister is due THIS WEDNESDAY!!!!!
and i am SO so excited.  (=

all throughout her pregnancy she has been prepping the sweet baby's room with yellows and grays,
a little navy, and of course white!

one thing she has been searching for are quotes on canvas.
not being able to find exactly what she wants, she came my way....
or maybe i threw myself into it,
but either way i was thrilled to take on the project!  (=

so friday night i took on the first two.
here is the process:

first, of course, choose your quotes.

second, decide what color you want the WORDS to appear on your canvas.

i left it white for the first one,
and i wanted the letters to be gray and yellow for the other.

no painting involved with the white letters, i just left it blank.



but with the grey and yellow i painted stripes across the canvas and let it dry thoroughly before moving on.


then, i grabbed a bunch of adhesive/stick-on letters



cut them out and placed them where i wanted them to stay


stuck them into place


painted over the canvases--and the letters--in the colors of choice.
[this will be the background color of your wall art]


waited for paint to dry
[this step was REALLY difficult b/c you want to see the results SO badly!]



voila!  (=

the next day my sister had 4 more canvases she was eager to finish, and so we had so much fun coming up with these:








what do you think?














8.02.2012

browned butter [yum.]

this morning [at around 9:30 even, that's just how we roll this summer.]
i set out to make raspberry muffins.

i found a recipe that called for brown butter,
and then found a few more.
did my usual picking and choosing/mixing and matching of ingredients,
and substituted what i thought would suffice.

what i came up with was this:


brown 5T butter in saucepan
{more fun if your saucepan was a sweet find at a garage sale last month!}

sift together:

1c all purpose flour
3/4c whole wheat flour
1 1/2t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
1/8t salt

{in a separate bowl}
whisk:

1/2c sugar
2T brown sugar
2/3c buttermilk--or use 2% and add about a teaspoon of lemon juice, let sit about 5min.
1/3c sour cream--or plain whole fat yogurt

whisk in:

1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2t vanilla

fold 1c raspberries into dry ingredients 


add wet ingredients to dry ingredients
{do not over-mix}


fill muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full

bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25min.
{or watch, like me, and wait until the tops are just golden}


delicious.



delectable.


every last bite.  (=