Peace, Anything Interesting?, Just Go With It, Name That Sound

1. The porch has become my morning haven. It's still night time when I wake up. so it's just the dark, the crickets, and me.
2. He pulls down the attic ladder and climbs up into oblivion. I know there's nothing up there but rafters and insulation, but there's something about attic ladders that promise an adventure. I climb up too, but only so far as my head appears above the opening so I can have a curious look around.
3. If anything is to be done outdoors today, it will have to be in the pouring rain. Henri can't be put off any longer, so we go for a stroll in the rain. I honestly like it.
4. Last night, before the rain, the three of us sat on the porch having a quiet chat. Far away, a motor could be heard and Steve leaned out to listen hard, thinking he was hearing the kiln at the cement plant several miles away. Tess claimed it was a lawn mower over the next hill. We all bent our heads trying to identify the sound when suddenly we heard a loud, far away clank. "Ah-ha!" We sat up straight and smiled knowingly. "It is lawnmower and it's just hit a rock."

Call From a Friend, Prettiest Color, Good As Ever

1. To hear Mari's voice on the other end of the line when I pick up is pure joy. She has so much to tell me and rushes forth with all the news of her day. Her three year old perspective of things is interesting. For example, her toddler movement class wasn't so much about the tutu as it was about the sticker with her name on it.
2. A basket of purple okra was the prettiest item at the farmers market.
2a. At dinner, I learned that Tess and her friend Ian were also at the farmers market. Ian bought the purple okra and fried it for his family. Our pastor was the "farmer" selling it. : )
3. Tomato pie for dinner! Still not tired of it yet!

Our Garden Overfloweth, Winter's Just Around the Corner, Remembering

1. A basket of Lemon Cucumbers on the office counter at school made a great conversation piece. The preschool teacher asked her class to guess what it was before they peeled and sliced it to eat.
*On an interesting note, Daughter #4 appears to be allergic to these. We knew she was allergic to raw pumpkin (cooked is no problem), and I thought there must be a link. Sure enough, I found that cucumbers are in the same family of  Cucurbitaceae. More information on these food allergies HERE.
2. Misty August mornings portend a snowy winter. For now, they give us an eerie atmosphere in which to start our day.
3. While writing permission slips for some girlfriends to ride the bus home together, I was reminded of those days in my own elementary school years and the excitement of riding the bus home with school friends. It meant playing some place different and exciting. We played imaginative, outdoor things like ice skating, hikes in the woods or games of tag. Indoors meant creative play like drawing, board games, or building puppets or dioramas for school. We had no electronics and what an fun time we had because of it. Oh, did I ever nod off with daydreaming! It's a wonder I got any work done at my desk today.

The Woods, Bus Rider/ Car Rider, Love That Smell!

1. In the thick, dark woods a tree has fallen and its roots are turned up on their side. I think if I was still a child, it would make a most excellent fort.
1a. I also stopped to stare up at the huge and ancient oak tree. I wondered who else had passed under its branches in decades gone by. Exactly what has this oak tree seen?
2. One of the teachers called me, "The Queen of Transportation". I said I liked that and could I have it on a name plate please?
3. Here comes that wonderful smell from the laminating machine again. Every time I smell the warming plastic I imagine it's Christmas morning. It reeks of new toys.

The Dirt on Me: A Reality Check

I received a kind and generous comment from Anita a post or two back. She wrote, "You have an amazing life." When I read that, I dropped my forehead on my desk and thought, "No!No!No!"

My life is exactly NOT that.

Blogs easily give that impression when they only focus on the good, which is exactly the nature of my blog.

Life is stressful, hard, sad and painful. I am a broken person with a broken life. For real.

Because of this, I write beautiful reminders to myself each day so that I can focus on the blessings that I see as gifts from God. The crazy thing is, when I go back and read all my previous entries, I realize that I do have an amazing life! We all have amazing lives when we look at them through this lens!


Just for fun, here's the dirt: 

1. Am I really supposed to be losing this much hair?
2. "Uh, Mom. I got pulled over but don't worry..."
3. The dog vomitted where?
4. Daughter #4 still needs to finish high school and go to college. $$
5. I like to eat. Heck, I love to eat.
6. My mom is 92 and sad...a lot...I call her every morning... sometimes twice a day...and it hurts.
7. Should my knees, back, feet, hands, neck hurt this much when I get out of bed each morning?
8. I speak my mind.
9. I have a temper.
10. I can be totally unreasonable. See #9
11. I love too much.
12. How much is that new rim and tire going to cost?
13. I embarrass my husband when I'm goofy (and with certain impersonations.)
14. Sometimes my family is scattered to the four corners with the wind and I am very, very lonely.
15. People I love have serious relational issues and I wish I could help them, but I can't. All I can do is listen and pray.
16. I worry about my children and grandchildren.
17. I need to bake a gazillion (cookies, muffins, turkeys, you name it) by when?
18. Oh my gosh, it's only 2:00am. and I'm WIDE awake. Will I ever get a good nights sleep!
19. Our life contains words like cancer, divorce, and depression.
20. Damn, why won't this checkbook balance?
21. I swear on occasion. But I try not to in front of the pastor... or the grandchildren.
22. I am seriously not mature enough to have these responsibilities.
23. I have no more hormones. Or maybe I do but they're the bad kind.
24. I stare into space and wonder about the future of everything.
25. Is it me or is it hot in here?
26. This headache is killing me.
27. I just realized this list could go to infinity and beyond.

Amazing life? The answer is yes...and no. It all depends on how you look at it. : )

Rain, Rain Go Away, Hatching Out?, School- Day One

1. And on the fifth day of rain, she said, "Let that be enough." And it was.
2. I looked at the fields under sun-dappled clouds this evening. It appeared the rain was starting up again. I refocused my eyes and saw that it wasn't rain, but billions of tiny flying insects everywhere. I called Steve and Tess to come look. The bugs flew in swarming patterns that looked like puffs and swirls of smoke. They went as far as our eyes could see. Tess and I watched them for a long while, hypnotized by the spectacle. They covered all of our five acres and beyond.
3. Today was the first day of school. It was a madhouse, but we smiled anyway.
3a. The preschool class came to the office looking for their gingerbread man. He had run away and they wanted to eat him. I checked my drawers but he wasn't there.

Love Bomb, Weather Patterns, It's a Revolving Door Around Here, A Walk in the Woods

1. Chelsea made it back to Colorado in the nick of time. (after fourteen hours of flight delays) Chad's  Open House for his and his partner's new bicycle business is today! Their website is up and running at: LoveBaum Bicycles. It is Chad's dream come true and we wish him much success.
2. A full day of steady rain and I love it. Even though it was on the cool side, I kept the porch door open so I could hear the rain and the birds.
3. Steve's flights were delayed too. Yet, somehow he managed to walk in the door just as I was taking a chicken pot pie out of the oven for dinner. Perfect timing!
4. Henri and I walked under dripping trees with rain soaked bark and silent woods. Is it my imagination or are there hints of summer's end in these woods?
4a. I want to tell Chelsea that I'm out walking and not broken after all. She'd be proud of her old mother : )