beauty
-noun, plural -ties.
1. the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).



Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Mini Advent Surprises

Supplies: various circle punches, Christmas stamps or stickers, colorful cardstock, old magnets, mini muffin tray(s) (24 spots total), small candies, easel or cookbook stand
Step 1: Prepare 24 magnetic-backed decorative circles
Step 2: Gather all small candies and write a few fun notes
Step 3: Fill space with candy
Step 4: Add notes in for an extra surprise on a few days
Step 5: Display on easel and anticipate the joy this fun tradition will bring
(Days 13-24 are on a second tray which, come time, will replace this one.)

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Being Popular or Powerful is Not the Problem


“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, “Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody.” … [My dark side says,] I am no good… I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved.” Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”
-words by author Henri Nouwen

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

To My Friends

Let us give thanks for a bounty of people.
For generous friends with hearts and smiles as bright as their blossoms;
For feisty friends as tart as apples;
For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers keep reminding us that we've had them;
For crotchety friends, as sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;
For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants and as elegant as a row of corn, and the others, as plain as potatoes and as good for you;
For funny friends, who are as silly as Brussels sprouts and as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes, and serious friends, as complex as cauliflowers and as intricate as onions.
For friends as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle as summer squash, as persistent as parsley, as delightful as dill, as endless as zucchini, and who, like parsnips, can be counted on to see you through the winter;
For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening-time, and young friends coming on as fast as radishes;
For loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils and hold us, despite our blights, wilts, and witherings;
And finally, for those friends now gone, like gardens past that have been harvested, and who fed us in their times that we might have life thereafter;
For all these we give thanks.

-- Max Coots

Monday, November 15, 2010

Presenting: The Oklahoma Minibook

It feels SOOO good to have this project completed!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Letting Myself Off the Hook

I am realizing more and more that I am a mood-driven task accomplisher.  But I've always felt pressure to be disciplined and more even-keeled when it comes to the daily chores of life.

Insert tension.

Some days I'm great at living "in the moment," not letting the to do list loom over the spontaneousness that is life with two small kids (slash life in general).  Yet other days I just have the "git-er-done" bug in me and I fly through the to do list and even tack on some bonus items.  (Those days I feel pretty superwoman-ish.)

Then there's the days I'm not in the mood to just go with the flow but not bitten by any sort of bug besides the, "barely-keeping-up-with-feeding-and-diapering-the-kids" one.  The days I feel like I've woken up a half hour behind (as if there was a schedule).  The days naptime is a super treat just so I can sit for a few uninterrupted minutes knowing I'm not absent-mindedly allowing Caitlin's 'lip balm art' in the other room.

I've heard great solutions too, like setting routines, getting up before the kids to have "me" time, planning activities, meal planning so it doesn't always feel last minute, etc.  Such great ideas.  If I'm honest though, usually I'm thinking about these on the days I've already accomplished 50 things and am on the productivity high.  It just doesn't translate well to the days I'm not in the mood to begin with.

A part of me wishes I was on top of everything and had a specific time to fit in all the needs and some of the wants of life.  Unfortunately, as a recovering perfectionist these kinds of ideas seem all too accomplishable and usually leave me extra frustrated when it just ain't coming together for long.

So I hereby let myself off the hook to "have it all together."  I will be up front with you that I will likely be late to our appointment.  I will give myself grace to call people back within a few days and not necessarily right away.  I will enjoy the days I do have a plan in place and I will back off my expectations on the other six days in the week when I don't (haha).  The laundry will not be ruined sitting unfolded in baskets, my room will not cease to be a place of rest when my dresser is cluttered and I can dig our scarves and mittens out of storage the day we need them.  My floors will likely never look clean and I will probably always have some kind of pile in my closet. (It actually kind of bothers me to type these things...ahhh! let gooo, Allison!)

I declare faith that the most important things will get done --even though they might change from day to day and mood to mood-- and throw my hands up to acknowledge and praise the One whose power that sustains me in the everyday.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Home: A Place to Be

Adventure Just Around the Corner

We had a great time at the park yesterday, with temperatures in the mid-60s.  Felt more like May than November!  The kids did all kinds of playing and climbing, running and swinging, and by the time we made it home they could barely take two bites of their lunch before naptime won.  I had to wake them both up from a dead slumber (Caitlin even dozed off two more times before finally waking up for good) two hours later...the true test of a quality playtime.