insta friday - time for a little catching up

Oh insta-friday, what would I do without you reminding me to blog.

Hello to those of you still checking in.

And happy mid-summer.

My it is going too fast.

Too, too fast.

I'm needing to plan

for the upcoming homeschool year.

Lots of decisions.

It's exciting, and scary, and overwhelming all at once.

And I don't think I'm rested yet.

 I will be sneaking away for a break shortly.

A much, much needed break.

More on that soon,

but first lets do some catching up.

Summer wouldn't be summer without

watermelon.  And making it even better,

was a watermelon lime smoothie.

I keep hearing lots of laughter

while he is teaching himself after effects

and making crazy little movies with his sisters.

I beg them, lets go to the beach.

Ironically sometimes they 'don't feel like it.'

"Don't feel like it???" I say.

"Ok, well it's not a choice.  Mom needs to go,

so we're going."

Who doesn't feel like going to the beach.

GEESH.  You know they're California kids 

because they're taking it for granted.

But once they get there, they always have loads of fun.

I had so much fun taking the girls to see a friend of theirs

in a student production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

at the Will Geer Theatre.  

Getting ready, they wanted to dress in something

that would seem appropriate for the play.

My little fashionista put together a dress that was mine

as a little girl...and turned it into something much, much more chic.

I had to email my mom to see if she had any pictures of me in it.

So here you go.  

She says she thinks it was my first grade school picture.

Oh and we met up with my college roommates.

This only happens once a year and sometimes even

farther apart when we're all in the same state.

It never stops feeling surreal seeing our girls hanging

out together, all the while remembering us together,

practically girls ourselves.

The chickens.  I haven't talked about them in awhile

have I?  This lady would not get off her nest

ALL DAY LONG.

It was kinda worrying me.

So I looked it up.

And guess what, it said around one year of age

they can start to 'brood'.  Do you know what brooding means?

She's longing for a baby.

She thinks if she sits long enough it'll become a baby chick.

OH poor girl.

And let me tell you, these chicken-isms we hear

like cooped up, brooding, ruffling your feathers.

They're no joke.

She was ruffling those feathers.

That girl did not want to be bothered.

Not one bit.  And she let me know it.

Loud and clear.

But alas, eventually I got her off, so I could get to breakfast.

Summer wouldn't be summer without sleepovers

and visits with friends.

This little girl is a neighbor.  During the school year

they didn't see each other much, but my oh my, they

just love each other so much and play so well together.

It makes a mom happy seeing all this joy.

More beach.

Which means more playing around of course.

And the clouds this day.

Some of my favorite.

A new devotional I'm loving from my sweet Aunt

in England.  Thank you Aunt Avril!

And sweet drawings just because.

I must not forget lots of pool play.

And this is just a little area of our kitchen nook aka homeschool space

that makes me smile.

Another morning with pretty clouds

and the feeling that He makes all things new

as the sun was rising after an early rain.

OH my, the annual summer purge.

We've all been putting it off.

But yesterday, it was time.

To sort through a year

or more (in my son's case)

worth of what to keep, what to give,

and what was just plain trash.

It's crazy when you realize just how much

trash you were saving for no good reason at all.

I was asked how I managed to motivate them to do all of this with me.

Well, they were motivated by the fact that we would go out to the movies.

Only once it was all finished.

We don't go out to the movies all that often. So it's a treat.

A treat that was worth them working hard.

The milkshakes were an added surprise.

I'm not going to lie.  

This was a rough, long day for all of us.

And the end, well, it was well deserved.

We saw Despicable Me 2 ... And all of us laughed out loud.  A lot.

We give it four thumbs up!

the trail of life

Some times, well lots of times, 

ok 

most of the time.

I need to get outside.

My kids need it too.

So on this day we hit the trails.

There's so much I don't take the time to write.

Thoughts.  Feelings. Ponderings.

My mind is always working.

It's both a blessing and a curse.

But so often I think in metaphors.

And this trail.

It's a lot like life.

There are ups and downs.

Sometimes it's nice to be alone.

And sometimes it's fun to be together.

Sometimes it's your turn to lead, to teach, to blaze the open trail.

And sometimes it's your turn to follow.  

To learn.

And sometimes you just need to take a rest.

Even dig your heels in awhile.

And stay.

When you're thirsty, drink.

Both literally and spiritually.

Even pour that refreshment right over you.

Soak it all in.

And once you've rested awhile, 

when you know it's time.

You get up and you start climbing again.

Making it to the top,

it's always worth it.

But the high of the mountain top, 

it is never meant to last forever.

And it's time to head back down.

Sometimes it's slippery.

Sometimes it's hard.

It helps to think positively.

Tell yourself you are strong.

You are brave.

You are courageous.

You can do this.

And sometimes when it gets too hard.

Friends are there to help.

To hold you through tough times.

And see you through to the finish line.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded 

by such a great cloud of witnesses, 

let us throw off everything that hinders 

and the sin that so easily entangles.  

And let us run with perseverance 

the race marked out for us, 

fixing our eyes on Jesus, 

the pioneer and perfecter of our faith."

Hebrews 12:1-2

insta friday - treasures

So it seems most weeks all I manage to blog is this

insta re-cap.

I think it's about the only social media thing I really 

am consistent about.  

 I'm grateful that instagram reminds me 

to capture those little things.

So here you go.

Our week began with this lady wanting to learn how to make me coffee.

And she has insisted on doing it all by herself.

Pretty much since she was two she has been this way.

Scaling the cabinets and counters to make her own food.

Because she's the third and mommy just wasn't fast enough.

I love her spirit.

And I just had to be patient.

Really patient.

While my bleary eyes wanted my coffee

so that she could feel the satisfaction of doing it

ALL

BY 

HERSELF!

And this moment.  This is the big payoff.

Any of you who've been around this coffee pot.

It sounds like a Boeing 747 taking off.

Huge satisfaction.

And then to this egg dish she said,

"Wow mommy, that looks like something I'd like in my twenties."

She keeps me laughing.

And so often has such an interesting take on things.

Like this watermelon, she said, "It's pitch pink.

I didn't get it and said, "pitch pink?"

"You know, like pitch black only pink."

So we said goodbye to their brother for his week long

camp experience.  He has gone as soon as he was old enough.

Which I realized was actually four years ago.  

I was a nervous wreck that first year and I realized this time

I've become so much more relaxed.

I know now he wears hardly any of the clothes packed

and he comes back pretty filthy.  Happy, but filthy.

Each year he reunites with his friends from preschool.

We get to log on to see pictures.  But that's it.

This year, I'm realizing from afar just how grown up he's looking.

So this week has meant a lot of girl time.

And a lot of errands.  I actually didn't manage to instagram them.

But oh me oh my.  Just imagine four hour stretches at home depot and Lowes

on multiple days.  With kids who get hungry and tired and bored and have to pee

again and again all while me needing to make educated and well thought out decisions.  

Fun times.

Last night I rewarded their patience because I know they were patient

through a lot of it with a trip for frozen yogurt.

And at their request, to browse through Michaels.

Girls after my own heart I tell you.

But I prefaced it by saying we cannot buy anything.

The littlest said, "Ok mommy I'll remind you."

And I did need reminding because that dollar section

is ever so tempting.

Look at these adorable tattoos.  I was wishing I had a party to plan.

And the art supplies.  We all simultaneously swooned over them.

But the looking and playing, oh and don't forget the

collecting of lost and broken bits and baubles.

That's her favorite part.  

Collecting her treasures.

I wrote about it many moons ago

when she was a wee little thing.

Same store.   Oh but look at how little she was.

And then we all just sat as she collected her treasures.

And she talked to me how she's changing and growing

and part tom-boy, part-girly girl and why she likes being

that way, but she might become more tom-boy, because

it's more fun being like that. 

And then the moon and how beautiful it was, and

how all of God's creations are just glorious.

Oh, sigh.

The treasures.

Of sitting and just soaking these moments in.

We just sat there in the aisle

and talked and talked.

until the Michaels employee

informed us that we needed to leave

because they were now closed.

And that's what I call a special girl's night out.