brass bands

Logan and I met Connor and his class at the square last week for the last fall lunch concert of the year.  Despite the fact that the majority of 6 year old boys and girls are not super fond of sitting quietly on cozy blankets and listening to live music, we had a good time.  There was a small brass band performing and Connor's ear for music and comparison kept him interested in what they were playing and kept the conversation between the two of us going as he told me what other song he was reminded of as he listened to each one being played.  Just another fun experience with my boys.

lifecycle building center

Five months ago we closed on our current home and have pretty much been in mid project the entire time since.  When you buy a circa 1950s home whose previous owners are 40 years your senior there are some slight differences in taste and style.  As of yet we've only had one really extensive renovation project with only one or two more on the list, but there are lots of little things I want to do to make this our home and have it reflect the comfortable, inviting place I imagine sharing with friends and family.  

Right now my current job pays me in hugs, kisses, thank yous and whining which means there's not a ton of money to purchase all the items one might drool over on various home store sites like restoration hardware, pottery barn, and joss and main to name a few of my frequently visited spaces.  It's a good thing that one of my absolutely favorite past times is shopping antique stores, flea markets, thrift stores, etc for furniture, decor and other raw materials that can be refurbished into useful and beautiful decor items.  

I was recently searching for a rug to cover the cold tile floor of a downstairs room currently being used as a playroom.  The only problem was that the room is a looonnnggg room and a rug that would fit the scale of the room was going to cost a ridiculous amount!  Even looking through all my usual stores and sites for discounted or low cost options would have still resulted in spending more than I would want on a rug where numerous children will be playing, coloring, eating and basically just mess making.   During one of my middle of the night can't sleep times, I decided to look on Craigslist in search of carpet remnants.  A short search later revealed a place that sold 10x20 remnants in various colors for $10.  Pretty much the best deal I would have ever found anywhere and I can't say I didn't at first assume it was a too good to be true situation, at least decorating wise.  A little more research led me to a lot more craigslist posts and to a website which caused excitement to abound and a shopping date being placed on the calendar.

After one rescheduled date day due to a feverish little boy, Zach and I were able to drive into the Atl to visit the Lifecycle Building Center and it took less than half a second to discover the too good to be true was actually a better than imagined.  We spent a good two hours slowly searching through piles of old windows, shutters, doors, reclaimed wood, lighting, flooring options all the while walking through a visually awesome old warehouse and wishing we weren't on a time crunch.

Before we left we were able to meet Adam the director of operations and creator/dreamer of the LBC.  He and Zach briefly chatted about how they got started, their current workings and a couple places they want to go in the future.  Packed in our car as we drove off was the 'rug' we came for, some lights for our house, two reclaimed wood pieces to be repurposed as a buffet table in the dining room and a piece of old pine wood floor that I will turn into a sign of some sort to either keep or sell.  We also left with tons of ideas, inspiration and a first experience of a place that will get frequent visits.  Thanks LBC!

phone pic friday

on a Monday because you know, life and all...

I've been cleaning out all my leftover items from my previous teaching days.  Since I'm fairly sure that is not where God is calling me for my future possession the piles of books, manipulatives and photocopies aren't really needed so I've been passing them on to teacher friends.  These are a few notes I found from my student teaching class.  These sweeties are Sophomores in college this year.  WOW, time flies!

Connor's class read The Wizard of Oz and were watching the movie after they finished.  I volunteered to make a snack to go along with the theme and was assigned the yellow brick road.  Pinterest for the win and the yellow brick road cookies.  Unfortunately Connor ended up running a fever and had to stay home sick so we had a movie afternoon together.  Not quite the same but definitely better than nothing! 

Ransom Kids has started back on a weekly basis.  Every Wednesday afternoon the boys go and have a blast "working out"  So fun and so good for getting energies out of crazy boys while building up strength.  Wins all over the place! 

My two Zacharys building puzzles.  Mainly because Zach is an awesome daddy.
Secondly because I wanted to cook dinner in peace! 

Everytime we host a gathering we check a couple more things off of our long house to do list.  This time it was cleaning around the pool for the end of the season and hanging up Zach's photography from different travels. 

New tanks are fun.  I found the cutest ones in an etsy store called WeekendUp.  I pretty much want them all. 

Logan for whatever reason didn't finish his dinner Friday night and when told he had to eat two (TINY) bites of chicken to be able to have popcorn during the movie he responded with no thanks he didn't want any popcorn.  After a couple of reminders during our movie that he indeed could not have any, he waited until the popcorn was gone and then starting rubbing his finger around the bowl.  After a couple minutes he looked at me and said, "Don't worry mommy, I'm not eating popcorn, I'm just licking the salt." 

loving my baby

There's a little blond boy in my home that has been allowing me to really hone my parenting skills recently.  When your almost four year old transfers back into a two year old, tempers flare, blood pressures rise, and chocolate is eaten.  LOTS of it.

I love my baby.  I love my baby.  I love my baby.  Even in the midst of extreme stubborness, disobedience, over the top silliness, frustration that results in not so niceness to his brothers by tackling them when they do something he doesn't like, and on and on, I love my baby.  The words he's lucky he's cute are a daily phrase followed usually by Lord Jesus give me strength.

When a group of moms get together its very similar to when a group of teachers gets together.  If you've never been around to hear either of these groups in conversation it's a very humorous, oxymoronic mix of elation and frustration.  You can try and try to talk about other things but rabbits will inevitably trail to children whether they are the ones living in your house that call you mom or the ones who come daily to the place they assume is your house that hopefully just call you Ms./Mrs 'your name' and not other words they may have learned.

  There's not many things that you can simultaneously never tire of yet want to run away from.  You love your children with a passion you can't understand yet want to pull your hair out and that is a statement that will always ring true.  

It never fails, however, that in the midst of my sharing (or venting depending on the mood), usually midsentence, I stop and realize that most everything I am frustrated about with my children I have struggled with in the past or done recently or possibly even could have been responsible for 5 seconds earlier.  Well maybe except for the tackling part.  I see myself in them in all ways, both the things I am most proud of and the things that make me have to stop, breathe, and count.

God sanctifies me through my babies.  He continually shows me my own sin and my own struggles through parenting, but on the other side, that means He is continually showing me how much He loves me and how He stays with me.  It's a beautiful cycle of seeing my need for God's forgiveness and seeing God's love for me through Christ and being able to give that forgiveness and love to them because of Christ in me.  

The consequences of Eve's part in the original sin was not just pain in childbirth, it caused pain in parenting.  It caused a rift between all parents and their children as flesh fights again flesh to achieve their own desires.  That rift will grow if we try to fix in on our own.

So I love my baby.  I love my baby.  I love my baby.  Not just for the gift he is and the joy he truly does bring, but because God grows my love through him. There is nothing my boys could do that would diminish my love for them, and If I can do that, even though I am so sinful, how much more will He be there for me? 

family days

We were able to host Zach's whole family for the day a couple weeks ago which basically means one of our dreams for our home is coming true.  I can't wait to host both of our families for get togethers, holidays if needed, weekend retreats, etc.  Dreams are big for future spaces to be added to make it a comfy place to be and stay.

Until then, long days of swimming, talking, eating, sprinting, walking, Kubb and all other things one family can fit into a 12 hour period will just have to do.  We loved having everyone over and introducing them to our new home and neighborhood.  I'm excited for many more times with both of our families in the future!