Rosy

Outside My Window

there is a flat of pansies and a bag of bulbs still waiting to go in the ground. It's happening this morning. Definitely.

I am Listening to

the sound of the shower upstairs. All else is still quiet.

 

I am Wearing

a smile, despite the fact that I'm pretty much stressed to my limit. I'm trying really hard to be a big girl. And not fooling anyone over nine.

I am so Grateful for

a really nice pediatrician. He's a good doctor, but it's the niceness I'm thankful for this week.

I'm Pondering

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues. ~Duke Ellington.

I pouted a whole lot last week. This week, I'm going to force myself to create something good instead.

I am Reading

this pattern, over and over. I cannot figure out how to pick up those wrapped stitches. Somebody help? Please? This is my portable project and I really need it for waiting rooms and car rides and such.

I am Thinking

about nightmares. Does anybody know a cure for chronic nightmares?

I am Creating

Lots. Well, not yet, but I'm going to start very soon. I really need to buckle down in the sewing room this week. Sarah wants a birthday crown and I need to finish the quilt for the NICU before her birthday and I have curtains cut but not finished and... I'm going to start a new project:

 I am learning

to quilt! Deborah Moebes, who is teaching me to sew via her fabulous book, Stitch by Stitch, is teaching an e-course on quilting. And even though I'm super worried about time being at a premium, I'm in! Look for very frequent blog updates as we go. Update: Deborah says that registration will remain open until Friday if you'd like to join us!

 

To live the liturgy:

I have rededicated myself to praying the Hours again, so grateful for worldwide community who prays with me.

Towards a Real Education

Marisa and I have been tweaking a Family Bible Study for over a year now. I think we've finally got it right. 

 

Towards Rhythm and Beauty

I'm recording my rhythm in this beautiful planner this year. And I have to say that just the sight of it makes me smile.

I am Hoping and Praying

for my birthday girl. 

 

Around the House

Leaf dipping is going to happen tomorrow. The leaves are not as pretty this year but Mary Beth was noticing yesterday that some pockets of the neighborhood have enough for us to scoop up. So we will.

From the Kitchen 

I metnioned these awesome cookie bars on Saturday. I'm happy to report that they have skyrocketed to the top of everyone's favorite cookie list. That's pretty high praise, as there are ten cookie experts in this house and it's rare they can all agree on anything, never mind a food thing. Go make some; your whole family will love you for it. But, um, rename them, as that name as it would not be a good idea to tell your husband you thought of him when you read the recipe. Becuase it's totally the chocolate and caramel that made you think of him and not the name. 

I'm pretty sure I'm making more for Bible Study today.

 

On my iPod:

My alarm clock, which is set to sound like church bells, as opposed to Mike's alarm clock which sounds like the soundtrack to the chase scene in an action movie.

One of My Favorite Things

boys who collectively give their sister the perfect birthday gift.

 

On the Calendar for the Week

 An early doctor's appointment this morning and then some focused sewing for the rest of the week. That quilting class starts today and I'm going to try not to become instantly obsessed. At the end of the week, we're going to Charlottesville. After spending the fall touring college campuses, Patrick has his last visit down at UVa this weekend.

Worth a Thousand Words

 

 Michael's girlfriend, Kristin, came to teach some eager Cake Bosses to make fondant roses while Mary Beth was at ballet last week. I think they made her a beautiful cake!

Comments

Good morning! I have a technical glitch in the combox. If you left a comment yesterday after about mid-morning or any time since then, I did receive it via email and if it was a birthday wish for Mary Beth, I passed it along. They aren't showing on the posts, but we're working on it! I do apologize.

Happy Birthday Mary Beth!

There are moments I remember as clearly as if they were yesterday. I remember Dr. John, doppler in hand, grinning as if he were going to burst. "You've got a butterfly this time, young lady. No doubt about it; it's a little girl." And I remember going home with that sonogram picture and waiting endlessly for Daddy to come home so I could show him. He looked and he looked, while your brothers waited expectantly. 

"It's a friend for Mommy." His words caught me by surprise. Of course that baby wasn't a friend; it was my daughter. My first daughter. For a long time, my only daughter. In our house, we were parents and they were children. I didn't really think of it as "friends." But my oldest was only 7. And he was a boy.

Daddy's words--as they almost always are--were prophetic. You are, most definitely, my friend. Certainly, I'm the mom and you're the girlie. But you are also the dearest friend I have.

Quiet and shy; thoughtful and introspective, you are not a chatterbox, much unlike your sisters. Ever since your first word, they have come quietly and measured. My heart leapt at those first words. I couldn't wait to hear what was on your mind. And my heart still skips a beat now when you invite me into your thoughts.

You are goodness and you are joy. Sweet girl in the middle of five brothers, you are the whole world to your little sisters. It is my dearest hope that they grow up to follow in your very graceful, very grace-filled footsteps. 

And you are the finest friend a girl could ever hope to have. You give your whole heart and you are ever faithful, even when the going is as hard as it gets. 

Daddy said I'd have a friend. With every year, you grow lovelier. With every year you become more and more the finest friend a mother could ever hope to love. 

Happy birthday, my dear child. I hope this year returns to you all the beauty you bring to us.

{top photo credit: Lori Fowlkes. All the rest are snagged from Mary Beth's facebook page.}

Intentional Weekend: Autumn Reading

The air grows colder. The breeze picks up. The season is changing, becoming autumn, with no chance that summer will make a brief return this time. I've seen the seasons change so many times it would be easy to take it for granted, to barely nod to the shifting winds, save to switch capris for flannel-lined jeans. 

But I have children in my life. Boys who are eager to wear the long-sleeved Under Armour and half pants in the goal. Teenagers who sing the praises of Pumpkin Spice Lattes. And little girls who talk excitedly of Christmas coming tomorrow. They tell me to stop and savor the wonder with them. I am grateful, ever so grateful, to watch with them as He ushers in a new season, to notice the gifts of each turning of the calendar page, to revel in the joy of God's abundant bounty.

Weekends are for bar cookies, oozing with goodness. For sipping hot cider in front of the first fire of the season. For gathering the autumn favorites from the picture book shelf and snuggling together beneath the now-necessary quilt.

Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic

Snowsong Whistling

In November

Christopher's Harvest Time

Apple Cake

Crawdad Creek

Brother Bartholomew and the Apple Grove

Mother Earth and Her Children

Pumpkin Moonshine

Five Minute Friday: Beyond

I see the prompt at Lisa-Jo's and instantly I hear the song in my head, the way Alan used to sing it, years ago, in the gym turned church. Shepherd me O, God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life. 

It is 5 AM. I've been awake since 3:45, my mind awhirl. Shepherd me O, God.

Hello, Fear, old companion nearly forgotten; you're back. You're creeping into those half awake moments and forcing me from sleep. Go! Get out of my head! My imagination is no longer your playground. He shepherds me beyond my fears. So, go!

I see Him now, slingshot in hand, whirling it masterfully in the air, sending fear scurrying into the beyond.

Gently you raise me and heal my weary soul,
you lead me by pathways of righteousness and truth,
my spirit shall sing the music of your Name.

Beyond these walls, beyond these beds, beyond these children finally sleeping. In the dark, and the sudden chill, I've called the Shepherd to draw close. Please lead me. I'm following You to a place beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life.

I will dwell in the house of my God forevermore.