packing it in

People keep asking me if I've started packing yet... Uh, no.  Not a single box.  Every time I think about all this month holds, from finishing up the floors to getting that basement cleaned out to sewing curtains to getting our stuff into and out of a box (again), I get a twinge of feeling ready for this to be all over.  Then I realize when it's all over, school will start.  So, I'm quickly reminded how we just have to live out each day.  One day at a time.  Preparing for the "end" (like, starting to pack).  But more than that, cherish the moments we have.  Again, this house teaches me more about life...about not wishing away the process, but finding the beauty in the here, in the now.
Now, could we cram any more fun into this weekend?!?  
When family gathers for a few days every few years, you gotta pack it in.

this birthday boy loves him some snakes.  i used the gluten-free chocolate cake recipe and reese's pieces to create his requested "snake cake."

it stormed, and our fireworks were postponed.  

but we all looked to the sky and saw an even greater display.

all because 2 people fell in love...

Somewhere in there, our little baby turned into 3 year old boy.  There are many memories through the years simply tucked away in my mind. {Like, him waking up on his birthday, running outside, net in hand, to "catch a butterfly for mama in my bare-uh feet."}  But this is one I captured.  

Wanting him to take a nap in the midst of some full days...he poked at my eyes, hissed at me with his rubber snakes, cast a few times his fishing pole, but when I started to sing to him, he covered his monkey with a "note," layed down his head, hugged my arm, closed his eyes...and gave me a chance to lay there and marvel at the blessing he is, the joy he brings.  
We love you, Jude Beckett.  
I know it's only been 3  years, but I can't imagine our life without you.

a sight for sore eyes

This is a little bit unreal to me...

 boys' room

 guest room

 closet turned miles' room 

 living room/dining room/kitchen

master bedroom

Thanks to some pretty amazing help, it's looking like a house!

Our walls are painted.

Our kitchen is tiled.

Our cabinets are placed.

Our floors are sanded.

They are being stained today.

Which means no walking in the house for 3 DAYS – can I get a Hallelujah!!!

Looks like we need to cross some things off our other list...

What's also a little bit unreal to me is 5000!!!  I know it's not much in blog-world.  But what I thought would be a place for me to post some gluten-free recipe successes has become so much more. 

Thank you for stopping by.  Thank you for following along.  Thank you for putting up with my random-ness {is it a house restoration blog?  a recipe blog?  snippets of our life?  um, YES?}  Thank you for commenting.  I always love to hear your thoughts.  (So, in honor of 5000, I did make it easier to comment and pull off the "what-is-this-word?" feature.  Let me know if it worked :)


{Edit:  If we weren't sleep-deprived from the above pictures and my baby-turning-3-in-2-days getting up now at 6 am, I would have realized that what comes after 4959 is 4960, not 5000 - whoops :)}

happy long weekending, all you people you!

chasing the light

It is crunch time on the house - mornings beginning earlier, nights ending later, weeks seeming longer, weekends shorter.  It's only Wednesday, but this morning my mind was full, breaths shallow, strength zapped.  

So, I set off into the woods to clear the mind, to chase after the light. 

It was more glorious than I remembered.  My pace slowed as I found the rays beaming into the woods, day unveiling its light.  

I rode by a stream we have passed hundreds of times, but this time I was drawn in.  Tapped down the kickstand, I needed a closer look.  

To study the way the light danced across the water.  

To memorize the gentle sound of river sloshing over rock.  

To still my soul long enough to recall:
The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need.  He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams.  He renews my strength.  He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.  Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.  You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.  You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil.  My cup overflows with blessings.  Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.  Psalm 23 (NLT)


I could almost feel the strength breathed back into me.  
As I thought through the ways His goodness and unfailing love pursue me....
- my love loading up my bike for me escape for an hour, to renew my mind
- eyes to see all this

- ears to take it all in

- lungs to breathe deep

- sun breaking through, chasing away the night

- 2 boys jumping off the diving board (answered prayer!)

- 1 boy yelling “for a happy meal!” as he did

- joy in rewarding their courage with a happy meal

- freshly picked lettuce in a BLT with roasted red pepper mayo for mama

- Udi's for coming up with such great gluten-free bread

- recalling exactly 1 year ago today, laying in a hospital bed with a post-op drain tube from my neck, knowing His peace and courage

- He preserved my life

- He restores my soul

my cup overflows...

boat-full of royers

Family has landed in our corner of the world from all over.  What fun-filled days these are of re-acquainting our kids with their grandparents, cousins and uncle, laughing and recounting old memories, making us some new ones.  

I'm looking forward to looking back on this day.  ~ Over the Rhine

Jude was the first to volunteer for tubing.  But, sweet little 2-year old got a good scare when the boat revved up and he almost fell off the tube (and cried “I want mama” until he was back in my arms).  Not sure how long a 2 yr. old's memory is, but hoping he'll forget by next summer, and we'll try again.

After a video shown last week in swim lessons about how not to drown, Jack has not been so eager to get in the water. I coaxed him into it with his very own can of Coke.  He was a good sport too, and says "Yeah it was fun...well, kinda."  

Miles was happy to chill the whole time.  Hey, him in the front of a boat that was twisting and turning every-which-way to knock off the tubers for 4 hours is HUGE!  A wave even splashed over the edge of the boat onto him, and he stands up, one fist raised in the air and yells "YEAH!"

Our baby turns 3 this week.  Not so much of a baby anymore, insisting to do more and more "all by myself"...like putting on his own sunblock and driving the boat.  I think he's got a mental "bucket list" of his own going...

This is how you surf in Indiana, in case you were wondering...
Our boys definitely were inspired.  

I loved seeing every ounce of courage in them surface as they stepped out of the boat.  But as much as I coaxed and bribed, they were just as content as their mama to be in the boat than to jump out of it.  [That launched me into a whole lotta wondering where the balance is between embracing their preferences and encouraging them to try, leading them past their fears and accepting that it seemed more fun to them to be in the boat.]  

In conclusion (after way-too much processing of all that):  

While I hope they will become one with the waves (and we will continue to give them every opportunity to), a contented afternoon of relaxing in the sun was very much welcome.  

Big thanks to our friends for making it happen, you know who you are...and you're pretty awesome!  These memories will be embedded in our minds, told of for years to come, and looked back on so fondly long after we have gone back to our little corners of the earth.

Oh yes, and remember this post so long ago?

Turns out rainy days can be very productive.

Superhero towels sewn.  Check.

Afternoon boating nap in the sun on grandma's lap.  Check.

summer-lovin'

These are the days I dream of all year...having all 3 of them, all day long, no pressing agenda, just fun.  First-day-after-school's-out trip to Wal-Mart quickly brought me back to reality.  [We haven't been there since.]  It's just plain crazy at times 'round here! 


It's taken awhile to find our groove...  One of our boys in particular needs structure, or at least routine.  We've had some off-days, when no matter how hard I tried, his mood could not be turned around.  Something magical clicked this week when the boys started swim lessons.  Just one scheduled thing, every morning at 10.30 has done wonders for him to order his world.  The rest of the day may be a grab-bag of activities, but he has handled it so pleasantly.  


Here I am, just lovin' the laid-back rhythm of summer.  
How did I ever forget how important it is that he knows what to expect?
We gotta dream *together* what these days should look like. 
So, we all sat down on the porch swing and wrote our to-do list for the summer (AKA, summer-lovin' 2011).  
. t-ball
. campfires
. bike rides
. stomp in river
. fishing
. catch dragonflies
. pick strawberries
. swim lessons
. soccer camp
. picnics
. afternoons at the lake
. silver beach
. O-H-I-O
. pick blueberries
. art museum
. snow cones
. catch fireflies
. watch fireworks
. spray-bleach shirts
. soccer games
. pizza in the park  
. nature walk  
. hunt for frogs  
. sparklers  . go to wal-mart (not my idea, at all :)  . scavenger hunt  
. canoeing  . boating  . splash park  . camping in our backyard 
. eating watermelon so juicy it drips off your elbows
. dad and mom date at cerulean's garden  . barbecues with family and friends and iced tea in the afternoon and staring at the sky from a yellow gingham blanket 
Sure, we're moving in a month.  I know it's a bit ambitious.  But I want summers to be so much more than packing and unpacking (we moved last August too).   

This is the day the Lord has made.  

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

psalm 118.24

He made this day.  How I want to handle this present with joyful, thankful care, savoring the moments that can too quickly pass by...and to coach them to ever so intentionally do the same.

Now to go cross some things off that list :)
Happy summer-lovin' all!

P.S. For more summer-love:  

http://organizing.yourway.net/101-ways-to-embrace-summer/

23 weeks and counting...

The nesting continues.  But only 5 weeks left!!! 

Just a month ago, our kitchen/dining room looked like this...

Now, it looks like...

It's coming together, people!!!

Last week…

Andy tiled the upstairs bathroom!  (His first attempt at tile.  Of course, this is probably the hardest.  But, he did such a fantastic job!)

Drywall finished!

Andy and Marty primed the walls!

We ordered paint!

Our kitchen cabinets arrived!  (To be installed next week)

Kitchen sub-floor repaired, ready for tile!  (Sometime this week)

I moved around some more of the landscaping, relocating the hosta and mysterious flowers that popped up around the blueberry and raspberry bushes I planted.

We discovered a peach tree, with peaches growing, in our yard!  

[True Story:  Andy and the boys bought me a peach tree years ago for Mother's Day.  The first year we picked off the peaches to strengthen the tree.  The next year there were 2 good peaches.  The third year was full of peaches, but our house sold and we moved just as they were ripening.  Andy talked me out of uprooting that tree and taking it with us.  It was very special to me.  But finding this peach tree already here for us, with peaches ripening just about the time we'll be moving in is just like God winked at me.  It was unnecessary, but so incredibly cool to see!]

My favorite project of the week was a quick trip to Ikea with my love.  We left early in the morning and were home before T-Ball.  We were on a hunt for curtains.  But, we took full-advantage of the drive to and from Chicago, date in the car, wind in our hairs, smiles as wide as can be, just bein' together.

For the living room curtains, I saw these on Anthropology...

I was smitten. [with the curtain, not the price]  

So I went to JoAnn’s and bought this (in orange) to sew onto these. 

I can't wait to share pics when they're done!