Wordless Wednesday: For the Love of Murphy
18 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in Family Living, Uncategorized Tags: Wordless Wednesday
Murphy and his humans.
When the blurry ones capture the moment, you gotta go with it.
This post has been linked to Wordless Wednesday over at 5 Minutes for Mom.
Saying ‘I Love You’
05 Jan 2012 1 Comment
Today, during a brief a morning snuggle, I pulled Eden close and hugged her tight.
And she replied,
“Thanks Mom. You fill me up with love, all the way up my body and into my brain where all my memories are.”
(Melt.)
If my kids know anything at all, it’s that they are loved. They are loved in the happy times, in the episodes of overwhelming thoughtfulness, but also amidst the trials, the disobedience, the discipline. My girl has told me many a time: “I know you love me, you just don’t like my behaviour.” Communicating that is so important. And truth be told, she hears it a lot because, well… she’s disciplined a lot. She knows I do it out of love.
My 11 year old still climbs up into my lap, limbs sprawling all over the place, to snuggle in and tell me he loves me. I hope it never ends.
Remember this?
Yeah, I know.
I think I’ll pull out my copy and read it to the kids today. We’ll see if I can get through without crying.
If you haven’t told your kids today that you love them, please do it.
Those words will fill them up, all the way up to their memories.
Simplify
02 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Simplifying Tags: word of the year
This will be my third year with a ‘word.’ It sounds funny to say it like that, but there it is, my WORD.
Sure, there are things I want to achieve this year — more like the standard resolutions — but the word thing has really worked for me over the past two years, so I’m going to stick with it.
I always have a lot of things going on in this head of mine, so the beauty of a word is that it’s easy, small enough to remember yet broad enough to be applicable to many aspects of my life.
This year, I want to simplify my schedule,
simplify my record keeping,
simplify my belongings,
simplify my menu,
simplify my work,
simplify my overall objectives in life.
It’s a good word for me.
My husband and I are both feeling intensely optimistic about twentytwelve. It’s going to be a great year. If I simplify where I can, I will minimize some of the peripheral distractions in order to move forward more resolutely,
with what really matters.
Happy New Year to all!
This post has been linked to The Lettered Cottage. (This little word of mine. I’m gonna let it shine.)
My Hope
28 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Believing Tags: hope, jesse tree, new year
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD— 3and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. – Isaiah 11: 1-10
I hope that as you read this,your heart is smiling.
And I hope that right now, where you sit,
your belly is full,
that you are sheltered from the wind,
that there are people who love you
and will love you no matter what.
Above all, my hope is in the Saviour that was born in a humble manger.
It is my prayer that you appreciate the gifts of our Father,
that you welcome Him in – really get to know Him,
and are as amazed by his grace and glory as continually as I am.
It is my hope that you are as just as content as can be.
With buckets of love and abundant blessings for 2012,
~T. xo
Recipe: Crack Bread er… I mean… Bacon Cheddar Ranch Pulls
05 Dec 2011 7 Comments
in A Link Up, Cooking Tags: appetizer
I saw this picture on Pinterest and started to drool.
Yes indeedy.
So when I attended a friend’s Christmas party a couple weeks ago, I knew I had to make it. It was easy and delicious and I will definitely be making it again and again. I followed the recipe found here, but added chopped green onion (because I love it so).
It was a big hit at the party and several people have asked me for the recipe, so it’s a sure keeper!
(Thank you Steph.)
Now to test out other combos that keep popping into my mind:
-olives and goat cheese?
-chicken and mushroom?
-BBQ chicken?
-a pizza version?
-shrimp and seafood sauce?
-artichoke and asiago?
-cream cheese and crab?
-a caprese salad version (mmmm… my long time favourite salad with tomato, basil and fresh bocconcini)
- or a sweet apples and cinnamon version?
- or chocolate and banana?
Holy Schmoly, this is going to be fun!
This post has been linked to Edie’s Party of Christmas Appetizers. If you don’t read Edie’s blog, you need to.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
This Week’s Gratitude
26 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Family Living, Gratitude, Homeschooling, House Stuff
I appreciate the snow and the smiles it puts on the faces of my children. Need I say more?
I am grateful for our blinds that were installed yesterday. We removed our old unrepairable shutters over a month ago for repairs and painting of window casings, and have been living in a fish in a bowl ever since. Aren’t they purdy?
I am grateful for our homeschooling week. It may have been one of the best weeks ever. Happy children, eager to learn, eager to create, and working through their errors patiently and productively = happy Teacher-Mama.
Caleb even asked me before bed last night, “I know tomorrow’s Saturday, but could you please prepare some extra math for me to do?” Um. YES! Who am I to squelch any desire to learn?
I am grateful for the life of my Grampie and the love he had with Grammie. It was difficult being 2000 km away from his funeral this week, but I am so very thankful for the man he was, the abundant fruit he displayed, and for the knowledge that he is dancing at the feet of his Father… which is exactly where he wanted to be all along.
Forever and ever,
Amen.
The Season’s First Snow
24 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Enjoying, Family Living, Homeschooling Tags: outdoor fun
The kids are doing remarkably well with our homeschooling this week, enjoying the new curriculum, jumping into their work early and without my prompting, working through problems (and even corrections) — calmly and patiently. I’m sure David is tired of hearing me talk about how terrific this week has been, but it’s been GREAT! The icing on the cake, however, was the snow that came yesterday. It started at about 8:00 am…
…and it continued all day.
It was a snow day here in our county, but considering the time we took off this fall, we opted to work through the day anyway. Before hitting the books, we did a bit of last minute yard clean up by removing the pile of gravel from the driveway. Our front walkway was completed the previous day (nice timing!), and the gravel had to be moved in order to use the snowblower. The kids were great about getting down to business outside (moving gravel is HARD WORK), and equally good about their school work.
After lunch, of course, they were back outside.
David took the afternoon off to watch the kids while I worked, but I did manage to snap a couple photos of them in the yard. This makes me thankful for the father my kids have. 
I must say I am grateful for the seasons. I look forward to throwing open the windows on the first sunny spring day, and I look forward to the crispness of winter, drinking apple cider and hunkering down by the fire with books on the day of the first snow.
And that’s exactly what we did.
And it’s exactly 1 month to my favourite day of the year! Happy Winter to All!
