Magic Moments

It's the beginning of Summer here, or at least it feels like it. It's been warm (finally) and we've been soaking in this time with nothing all that pressing to fill our time. I'll admit, after the school year ended for us I was TIRED! I think I went a week with no real plan, with my house a mess, and spent most of the day still in my pajamas. I'm telling myself that even public school teachers are tired at this time of year so it's normal, right? By September I'll be ready for routine, but right now I'm just holding onto Summer with two hands so it doesn't go too fast. This week I ran the boys ragged at parks. :) After spending Wednesday morning at the Lake, we met friends at a park both Thursday and Friday. It was wonderful. It's been so warm the boys have already been in the sprinkler. Summer is good. It's also the beginning of recruiting some help around here. Did I mention how tired I was after school ended? I decided that I can ...

Week 21: Color! Aiden: Go Yellow Team!!! (and my first attempt at motion blur. :)) Sage: So much to say. This merry-go-round is part of the cabin's heart and soul. It has been played with for generations. It has been welded and painted, and painted and welded. Honestly, it's more of a hazard than anything else. But, each child has loved it and now it's Sage's turn to love it just like his cousins, aunties, uncles and Daddy have before him. I chose this picture for "Color" because since riding this Merry-go-round last week Sage's prayers have included this phrase, "Deek (thank) you, Jesus for the wewwow (yellow) merry-round."

This article made me cry. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I began looking forward to the future. http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2014/05/27/on-parenting-teens

Pure Joy. Right here. That's what it looks like. A little two year old heart full of trust and happiness and love and potential and Jesus. Add to it a little sunshine and cabin magic and that's what you get....Pure Joy. This is what Sage did ALL. WEEKEND. Breakfast with Marme in our favorite place which we call "The Nest." The swinging bed. Quite arguably the coziest place on earth. I keep looking at this picture and singing that old Sunday School Song, "I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul...."   More motorcycles. You get the idea. Cousins 4 life. The weekend was full...motorcycles, camp fires, fishing, friends, family, work, cleaning, chasing the boys, cooking...the list goes on. Cabin Magic is in our hearts and souls. I just may post about every trip we take to the cabin this Summer, so be warned. It's our happy place.

It's Soccer Season and Aiden has taken the bull by the horns. He's faster this year, he's smarter this year, and you can tell this in his defensive and offensive playing. I would like to go on and on about how cute 4-6 year old soccer is, but it's little more than organized chaos. In reality, 4-6 year old soccer is a mess because... -4 year olds are too little to play with 5 and 6 year olds -6 year olds are way bigger and faster than the littles and it creates an awkward skill gap -some kids are ball hogs -some kids refuse to play -lots of kids are cry babies -LOTS of parents are cry babies -lots of parents cheer way too loudly when their kids do little more than stand on the field and breathe. I hate to be a Debbie Downer but most of the kids on the team probably aren't going to be playing in the World Cup. I'm pretty proud of Aiden. He's willing to play, do his best, he tries really hard to pass the ball and even block the other team. In a coupl...

We celebrated Mother's Day a week late since Tom worked on Mother's Day. So on Saturday I had breakfast in bed :) and per my request we bought my flowers for the yard and planted them all together as a family. Tom has sweetly made it his goal to rid my yard of the dandelions I hate so much and once my yard is weed free I've been promised a hedge of Cranberry Vanilla Honeysuckle bushes. On Sunday we hopped in the car and headed to the cabin for the day. The weather, although a bit windy, was one of the better days we've had. We got to see Grandmommy and Grandpa for the first time since Thanksgiving so the day was extra nice. We are more than ready to spend many a day at our dear sweet cabin on the lake. It's hard to believe by looking at this picture that these two exasperate me more than words can say. I'm either a glutton for punishment or a mother because there are no two boys I'd rather be with. Love them with all my heart!

Albert Einstein once said, "The greatest form of research is play." I love that. I always tell my kids that their job or their work is to play. I think it's vital to development. As you know from the last post, we played at the Science Museum this week. Like always, my boys couldn't touch everything fast enough. Aiden has been talking about microscopes lately so this was a fun picture to catch. And I love that Sage is beneath an "Early Explorer" sign that was part of a baby/child development exhibit. Early Explorer describes Sage to a "T."