Thursday, January 2, 2014
Monday, December 30, 2013
A profound reminder
from Nest & Launch
"As mothers, as fathers, we have at our disposal a wonderful time of rehearsal. We may set aside our interests time and again; we may practice watching the interests of others. But if that sacrificial love starts with our children, and stops there, we will have lost our opportunity to fulfill Christ's commandment, and so have everything that He has promised. Christ's commandment is that we love, not just our children, but one another!
"...This is the best news of all, because, mothers and fathers, when our time has come, when, having fulfilled the duties of our state of life we are free to address ourselves to the needs of the world, when it comes time to love one another as Jesus loved us, we already know how! We have already learned! How to teach, how to feed, how to tend, how to heal, how to care, how to love. But it is different with us this time, because we act not out of duty. This time, in addition to knowing how to love, we also know why.
"...Having practiced our scales, played the daily exercises of love for our children, the scales of our belonging, now we come to the concerto. Now the music begins. Having loved our own, we now can love the world. Now we rise to the task for which parenting prepared us...because although we lost ourselves in our mothering, God remembered us, and brought us forward, and made us new."
- Reverend Canon Susan Harriss, Mother's Day sermon
Sunday, December 29, 2013
12/28/13
Lily made this very impressive sculpture entitled, "Angel with the Baby Jesus" out of homemade play dough. I say homemade because she kept mentioning throughout her process how inferior it was to actual Playdough that you buy in the store. I still think it turned out pretty cute. We do the best with what we have to work with, I suppose.
This is me dehydrating sweet potatoes. Yesterday it was kale. Today Jake will be making beef jerky. This dehydrator has been far and away the most beloved appliance in our home. For Christmas we dehydrated spiced apples and our whole hose smelled how I can only imagine the witch's house from Hansel and Gretel must have smelled. I would have gone inside too.
Jake was a champ and took down all of the outside lights.
This is how I know Jake loves, know, and cherishes me.
Buster got a new collar.
This is the roller coaster Alex got from Santa but I assembled. I'm a little obsessive about it. It took me half the day to put together, and it's pretty cool. Any time the kids go near it it's like a splinter in my brain, and when they are finished playing with it there is a lengthy inspection process assessing any damage.
I am such a fun mom.
Apparently my kid's friends think they are my slaves as they are sweeping my sidewalk without any prompting from me. They are welcome to come over and think they are my slaves any time.
Lily put on a little dance performance form me while operatically singing Carol of the Bells.
And Alex put a hat on me that he didn't want to put away. See, now it's my hat and I must put it away.
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