I’m not much of a wine connoisseur. I like mine white, fruity, sweet, and cheap. I don’t appreciate wine that has been oaked and has “subtle hints of cigar and Marmite.” I toured a winery in South Africa when I was there nine (9?!) years ago, and that was part of the flavour profile on one of the wines. Seriously? How does anyone find that enjoyable? It seemed that the more expensive the wine got, the worse the flavour was. I learned my lesson.
Clay went a little crazy at the liquor store today, so we have a few options now when the mood strikes.
Come on! I meant the mood for wine.
Just a few things for you to read while you sip on a cuppa. I see a theme running throughout.
Manager, Martyr, and Meek Mothers | Trisha Wilkerson, Mars Hill Church Blog: I spend far too much time being a manager or a martyr. By God’s grace, I pray that he will transform me into more of a meek Jesus follower.
10 Ways For Moms to Respect Their Daughters and 10 Ways for Moms to Respect Their Sons | Jen Smidt, The Resurgence: This is convicting stuff for the manager and martyr in me.
Compelled By Love | Bill Clem, Mars Hill Church Blog: The “Giving up our entitlements” part blew me away. I want to be that kind of servant.
Why the City is a Wonderful Place to Raise Children | Kathy Keller, The Gospel Coalition: Having grown up thinking that rural life was holy and city life was for sinners, yet feeling called to live in a city now, this is a great look at how city life has the potential to turn our kids’ hearts toward God rather than guaranteeing their destruction. That sounds really extreme, haha! Seriously I used to think that way. If only I could raise my kids in a small town, then they’d turn out alright. Praise God our salvation does not depend on our proximity to the nearest liquor store or on the amount of potheads in your English class for that matter. Let’s be honest, small towns are no paradise. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
Today was the International Day of the Midwife. To celebrate, the kids and I headed down to the midwifery clinic to say hello to Debbie. She was my midwife during my pregnancy with Deacon, and was there when I gave birth; she’s an incredible woman who is so gifted at what she does.
I’m not here to drag through any debates about doctors vs. midwives. I’m not here to crusade for natural birth. I just want to say that I think midwives are awesome! Midwives are professionals who are experts in normal, uncomplicated pregnancy and birth. That makes being cared for by a midwife an option for most women. They provide care that is personal, and bring a woman into the decision making process.
I am so thankful to have had the option to choose midwifery care when I was expecting Deacon, and I wish more women had the option. It is such a blessing to have such personal care during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. When my care with the midwives was over, it was like saying goodbye to a member of our family, and it was so great to reconnect today!
Something you might not know about me is the fact that I am a bit of a control freak. Does not work well with others. Yes, that would be me. In high school, I hated group projects. Yet I was the one whom everyone wanted to work on a group project with because they knew they would have an easy ride. I’d just take over and do almost everything because I was so worried that other people were incompetent and would drag me down rather than add to my success. I do not delegate well. I would rather do everything myself so I know it’s done right. What is right? Well, my way of course!
Something that started out as a manageable project a few days ago, something I could handle, has transformed into something that is completely beyond me. While this would have stressed me out in the past, it came upon me so suddenly that I didn’t even realize what was happening, and I am finding immense joy and freedom in surrendering it to the Lord. It’s in His hands, I know that full well.
I feel like we came to Jesus with five small loaves and two fish and he is multiplying our offering. I have no choice but to allow others to come on board and help me with this endeavour because it’s completely more than I can handle. While that would have severely stressed me out in the past, today I find it exhilarating to let go.
Some of you think we eat out all the time. (Hi, Jessica! haha) Apparently food is exciting for me and I post about it often. We’re really not out eating amazing food very often, but when we are…well, I like to take pictures of food.
I don’t have anything against kids going to nice places, I just like to go on dates without them sometimes. Call me crazy. So when we had the opportunity to go for supper with friends this evening, who happen to also be parents of 4 children, what criteria did we have when choosing a restaurant? Somewhere without a playground. We had a gift card for TusQ, a restaurant downtown, burning a hole in our pocket, so off we went.
The food was amazing! I had sirloin steak with an espresso white wine sauce, roasted baby potatoes, and mushrooms and artichokes. Truly one of the best steaks I have ever had in my life. I also ate calamari tentacles for the first time. I wouldn’t say they were good, but they were better than the rings that I’ve typically had when I’ve eaten calamari. Can you tell I’m not a seafood lover?
If I were rich, I would eat here often. As it is, I took a picture to remember how good this meal was because it will probably be a while before we eat here again. I see a lot more playgrounds in my future.
Our kids are definitely put to work around here. They are often too immature for a lot of chores, but there are still plenty of things to find for them to do. They put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher, put the clean dishes away, help with sorting laundry, put clean laundry away, and are expected to help keep their things tidy.
More often than not, it takes a parent telling them what to do in order for anything to get done. It is usually more work to get them helping than it is to just do it ourselves. They have not been self starters in the chore department.
Until today!
Markus offered to take some garbage outside to the bin, he brought the fliers in from the house mailbox, and then asked if he could go down the street to get the mail! I was apprehensive to let him get the mail, mostly because I didn’t think he was tall enough to reach the box. Markus always seems to be one step ahead of us – a bit of a schemer, this one – and he said he would just bring a stool. He was sure he could carry the mail and the stool on the way back, but I sent Wyatt along to make the job a little easier.
What a difference it makes to have them volunteering to help! All these tasks were things that actually needed to be done, and they saved me time because I didn’t have to intervene. They just did it.
Happy Independence Day!
I’m a few days late with these photos, but here we are. Our little Deacon Isaac is ten months old! He is now a crawling machine. Not in the traditional hands-and-knees fashion, no, this boy puts one leg behind him that propels him forward, while his other leg is bent in front of him. You’ll get a visual a few photos down.
Watching the siblings play outside.
Testing things out.
“Hmm…am I okay with this prickly stuff on my delicate skin?”
All smiles.
I love his laugh! And does he ever love to scream! When he wants something he will let you know, not in an angry way. It’s more of a, “Hey, I am here! Pay attention to me!” scream.
Bright brown eyes.
There’s the crawling stance I was talking about. Big brother Wyatt was very concerned that Deacon was going to take a tumble down the deck stairs.
Crazy Mommy, why is she taking pictures instead of helping?
Little Chubby. That’s what Bailey sometimes calls him. Wherever would she come up with such a name?
Chicklet teeth! Bright eyes! What a priceless face!
I love you precious Deacon.
Hand-me-down clothes are such a blessing! When the boys were small we were never able to accept peoples’ generous offers of clothes because of our scent allergies. Thankfully I have slowly been adding smell-busting tricks to my arsenal of cleaning know-how, and now smelly clothes rarely stand a chance against me. This means I can go thrifting again (yay!) and can make use of clothes that get passed on to the kids.
I was folding some new-to-us clothes for Bailey when she found me in the basement.
“Oh! Oh, pretty! Pretty, pretty, pretty! Pretty dress. Oh, I love pretty things! These are so pretty. Oh! Beautiful!”
Oh Bailey! You are so rich! In my wildest dreams I could not imagine a girl so delightful.
Clay is out shooting some video. The kids are in bed, albeit not all are asleep. Yet. It’s time to make some tea and get back to reading The Hunger Games. This book is awesome!
Decorating takes me a long time. I painted these blue stripes on a wall in the boys’ room about a year ago, thanks to my friend Sarah’s inspiration. After painting, I didn’t know what direction to take the room in. I wanted something else on the walls, but didn’t know what. Until yesterday, when Batman beckoned from the most unexpected place. Value Village! Seriously, you never know what you’re going to find in that store! The boys are thrilled. Truth be told, so am I. That is one cool poster! Now the black curtains and dresser tie in nicely thanks to the black in the print. I’m a reluctant and apprehensive decorator, but eventually I get things done.