Peace and quiet

Profound thought of the day: "Peace and quiet" is a rare commodity for a mom.

Moms, I know you KNOW what I'm talking about!! My days are filled—from the crack of dawn until bedtime—with squeals of delight, crying, almost incessant chattering, car/vacuum/blender sound effects, whining, etc.

However, right at this moment I am sitting in utter silence... Ryan is napping while Brandon and Daddy are out on a bike ride... no cars are driving by... no dogs barking... no airplanes flying overhead... and I can feel the tension in my back easing away... ahhhhhh... there's just the sound of the birds chirping... heavenly. :)

The wise woman

I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!

I don't spend a great deal of time in Proverbs, but whenever I do—wow—do they pack a punch! Not the kind of thing you can just breeze through... you gotta stop and chew on it, and then chew on it some more. Since there are numerous references to listening to and accepting counsel & advice in the book of Proverbs, I would like to hear [read] YOUR thoughts about the following verse I read today...

It's Proverbs 14:1, which says, "A wise woman builds her house; a foolish woman tears hers down with her own hands."

MY first thought was about controlling the tongue. Just think how a woman could tear her house (her husband and children) down by cutting everyone to shreds with her sharp words. But by guarding her mouth (with God's help!) she can build up her husband and children by choosing positive and constructive comments, encouragement and praises, and with a kinder tone of voice.

What other thoughts to y'all have?? Please share!!!! :)

Birthday blessings

Today I enter the 40th year of my existence on this planet [for those who may be "arithmatically challenged" that means I turned 39]. :) It's amusing to me how different my idea of birthday blessings is now that I'm a mom. Here are the things that have been gifts to me thus far on my birthday (it's 9:30 a.m.) ...

1 - Brandon slept in until 6:10 this morning! [He is usually awake at 5:45.]

2 - The sun is shining! I LOVE sunny days... even if it's 10 degrees below zero... which it's NOT, praise the Lord... but I'm just saying... well anyway...

3 - A little peace & quiet. My husband took Brandon on an errand and the baby is sleeping... so here I am... sipping on a cup of General Foods International French Vanilla Cafe [for those who are around my age and older, "celebrate the moments of your life!"] ...enjoying a little time on the internet, and planning to have some 1:1 time with God immediately after posting this. I even got to paint my toe nails. Yahoo! :)

Imagination

Kids are cool, ya know? This week Brandon walked up to me with his blue and yellow plastic shovel in hand and said, "Play guitar"—and then proceeded to sing "Praises, to the One who saves us..." while strumming his shovel-guitar! No one showed him how to do that...he came up with it on his own! That kind of amazes me. Kids are so creative!

The other thing Brandon has been pretending to do for a few weeks is cook with the basic recycled plastic lids and containers in his toybox. He pretends he's cooking eggs & sausage, as well as blending up soup using an old plastic thermal mug (and, of course, hums loudly to make the blender noise). I just wanted to run right out and buy him a little kitchen set! But Jon kind of said, "Wait a minute, honey...if he's having fun pretending with the random stuff he has, let's let him use his creativity!" Good idea. Plus, Brandon's birthday is coming up, so maybe.... well.... shhhhh... don't tell him! :)

New things

I so enjoy observing my kids mastering new things. Like Ryan (my almost-7-month-old) playing with his Nuk... he pulls it out of his mouth and tinkers with it for awhile, then sticks it back in his mouth and has even learned to suck on it upside down (that is, the pacifier is upside down, not him). Or Brandon (my 2-3/4 year old) folding his hands as I work on teaching him to "wait patiently"... ah, if only I could master that myself (waiting patiently that is, not folding my hands)...

Life is good

I love my life! This morning I've been in the kitchen chopping up fresh produce for a couple of soup recipes...makes me feel so domestic. :) Meanwhile, Brandon goes back and forth with his plastic lawn mower, humming and pretending it's a vacuum cleaner... and Ryan has been sitting happily in his high chair (this has been a long time coming!) playing with links. Ahhhhh. Life is good!

Spring has sprung!

Oh Mylanta, it's been a long time since I've posted. Well praise the Lord, I think spring has finally sprung in Minnesota! We had a beautiful day yesterday—sunny and in the upper 50s. Brandon and Daddy played in the yard much of the day (well, Daddy raked while Brandon drove his trucks up and down the driveway). Hurray for springtime!!!