Monday, February 28, 2011

iheartfaces: submission regret

I've been recently entering images in iheartface's weekly challenges and this week's challenge is really fun!
It's: Anything but a Face

Where normally you HAVE to have a face in every submission, this challenge you DON'T! It's anything and everything besides a face: heads, shoulders, knees, toes ... 

I immediately thought of the following image and submitted it without much thought beyond:

Then I immediately regretted it! 
GAH.

Why didn't I take a second to think? 
I mean ... I adore that picture. 
It's MY kiddos' toes and it's so adorable. 

But then I thought of this one and I just thought it would have been so much fun:


Look at that hair! Who wouldn't LOVE that hair? 


And then ... ohhhh, then ... 
I remembered this one of Emma:

I loved that picture of Emma. Still do. I was learning sun flare and I actually got it! 
And the emotion that her twirling and dancing evoked in me was unmatchable. 


And then I remembered my all-time favorite Emma picture. Maybe even my favorite picture to date. 
This one:


This one gets me. 
It stirs my heart. 
And I'm REALLY wishing I would have submitted that one instead. 
Oy. 

No regrets right?
Especially since it's just a photo challenge. 


Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Wyatt Saga ... Part III

We've had short breaks in our Wyatt saga but today brought it all back to the forefront! 
With Wyatt's curiosity and mischievousness I was confronted with my own laziness and selfishness. 

Many times, Wyatt escapes from my view when I am focused on something else:
changing another diaper
making lunch
helping Emma and George
doing laundry
etc

but today, today I was not distracted. 
I was simply sitting upstairs with the other three, not paying attention, and not desiring to investigate. 

We had two separate incidents today and both brought me face-to-face with my laziness. 

This morning Wyatt dumped out a mocha that was left in the fridge and then emptied the 1/4 gallon of iced tea that was also in the fridge. 
Of course, he dumped them on the carpet! 

I cringed and screamed on the inside. I cried on the outside. 

Later, just before lunch Wyatt went downstairs before the rest of us. The older two followed him shortly and I lingered upstairs for just a few minutes. Why? I don't even remember! 

Well, he decided he wanted eggs.




I think he ended up breaking 6 or 7 eggs total. 
And I cried again. 
Partly because I am so overtired, running on 4 hours of sleep, partly because I spent more money on those specific eggs than we usually do (they're cage-free, organic), and partly because I knew it was just a result of me not being present with the children today. 


And I am reminded once again that I need the Lord. 
I need His joy. 
I need His sustenance. 
Heaven knows, I cannot do it on my own.

Today seems like such a silly little thing to fall apart about, but I was gone. Pieces all over the place. 
Because I'm at my breaking point, at least momentarily. 
I know my moments of frustration and brokenness are not any less than any one else's, no matter the struggle, but I do have to laugh at myself thinking of how little this seems!

But ... 
HE is all powerful. He is all knowing. He is all seeing. 
He knows my every ache - emotional and physical. 
He knows my pain. 
He knows that I'm reaching that breaking point. 
And He wants me to break into Him. To fall into His arms.

I am reminded to:
Let His strength surround me and wrap me up completely.
To remember that the JOY of the Lord is my strength. 
We get strength from the joy of the Lord, not the other way around.
So often I think, "God just give me strength." But that's backwards according to the Word. 
God wants to fill us with joy, He wants us to seek His joy and when we do, He uses that joy to give us strength.

Am I spending time with Him? 
Am I pausing through out your day to dwell on His words, His truths, His promises? 
Are you?

Just set your Bible on the counter, open to Psalms, and whenever you're there pause and read a couple verses.
And when you do, breathe a breath prayer out to Him:
"Lord, give me Your joy."
"Lord, heal my home."
"Lord, be my strength."

And now I need to do what I tell others to do. 

Project 52: Week 7: Broken

I don't know if I have words for this week's image. At least, not adequate ones. 
Broken.
Broken hearts.
Broken children.
Broken promises.
Broken marriages.



Abhor selfishness. Abhor stubbornness. Live sacrificially and save your homes. 

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Project 52: Week 6: Vrooooooom

It's project 52 time again! Though, I'm a tad behind on my post this week. 
This last week was all about George. My G-man. 
His birthday was on Thursday - the 10th. 
He just turned 4 and I can barely believe it! 

Well, if you know George, you know he loves any and ALL things that have wheels and motors!
So this week's P52 project was right up his alley:
VEHICLES
Any, all, whatever kind you want, however you want. 

First I want you to meet my G-man, if you haven't already. 
He's quiet, pretty calm (though it flares if you try to take his car), he's studious, loves reading, and loves all things cake related. He's sturdy and solid, but tenderhearted. 
Here's him and his crazy hair:

Here were the runners up for the P52 image:






And here is the image I actually submitted:
It was exactly what I envisioned.





Monday, February 07, 2011

Project 52: Week 5: I Love

This week's assignment was a self-portrait. 
A self-portrait with something you love.
Something you love that is NOT another person.
Hmpf.

I mean, I'm all about doing these assignments, so I will but at first I was slightly perturbed. 
My life is all about my God, my husband, and my children.
They are my loves. 
The delights of my life, of my day. 
So, when I think of what I love, I think of them. 

Obviously I have other things I'm passionate, outside of them, but they are my first thoughts. 
So while I was able to come up with things I love I was having a creativity block about what to do with it all. 
Thankfully, God's given me fabulous friends who talk to me and dialog with me and help get my juices going. 
Seriously, thank you Lord, for that! 

An idea was given and I took it and ran with it and what I pictured in my head was what I was going to make happen, if it killed me! 
I was on a mission this week. 
So, my poor children were dragged out (even with colds, yes, I'm *that* mom) and I made this thing possible. 

I never knew one single picture could be soooooo much work. Or so much fun! 
I won't lie, I'm kind of in love with it. 

So, here's my week 5 self-portrait:

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

The Wyatt Saga ... Part II

Wyatt's antics have been ... less than desired lately. 
You can catch up on a recent day HERE

That ^ was last Friday. 
Monday was filled with purple kool-aid. 
All over my couch cushions and carpet.

Tuesday. Well, this way Tuesday:

Wyatt spent the morning in the kitchen with me, "helping" me chop all the vegetables for the chicken noodle soup and put it all together in the crockpot. 
Then we all sat and read and did some stickers. 
Then we headed upstairs. 
Emma was getting ready to take a shower, George was in his room, and I was changing Clara's diaper for her nap. I thought that Wyatt had gone with George and was playing. 
Boy was I wrong.

So v e r y wrong. 

I found this when I went downstairs, realizing he was NOT in George's room. 
This probably goes without saying but I think I was downstairs in .2 seconds. 



I had no words. 

Then I looked to the left. 


And to the right. 


No words. 
And yes, that's my couch cushion ... without its cover ... because the cover was in the wash from the day before when it was saturated with purple kool-aid. 


At this point I believe I picked Wyatt up and just said over and over, "No.No.No.No.No." 
It was my mantra as I walked him back upstairs and plopped him into his room. 
There may have been an initial, "SON!"
(As in my son, not the other son you're thinking!)


So my living room is painted, quite creatively, with coffee. 
You may be wondering how he achieved such streaks and dots ... 
he took a wipe and soaked it in the coffee and proceeded to whip it around to make all the fanciful decorations! 
And as my friend was helping me stay positive she said, "I bet it smells GREAT!" 
It did. Lol. 

Today, I can chuckle to myself. 
Although yesterday there were expletives running through my thoughts. 
::shameface::

And then embarrassment in realizing that if you don't know me very well and only see these little snippets, you may very well think I'm never watching him and never disciplining him. 
I don't know if it bugs me more that someone may think that or that I AM doing those things and these are frequent occurrences in our home!

They'll make hilarious stories to tell his future wife, that's for sure. 



And on a completely related note, I HATE FLAT PAINT. 

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Apple Valley Natural Soap!

Is amazing and fabulous. :) 
Really, it is. 
Trust me. 

Oh, come on, I have a trustworthy face! 

Seriously though, if you're looking for an alternative to the soap you currently use (maybe commercial soap that is full of harsh chemicals) then I HIGHLY recommend Apple Valley Natural
It's a family run business and this family is amazing! 
I can say from meeting them personally that they will ensure that you get quality soap with quality ingredients and they will always, always take great care of you as a customer. 

My personal favs:
Herbal Salve - we use it on our babe's butts and it takes care of their delicate tooshies.
Lotion Bars - fabulous for these dry MN winters and those rough callouses on my feet. 
Pretty much any soap - seriously. They're all delicious. 
I love all the shampoo options too, but sadly, we have hard water and I haven't switched to doing an ACV rinse yet... YET! 

So enough of my gushing - please check out the FABULOUS give-away over at Life in a Shoe.
The winner of this giveaway will receive abeautiful, luxurious triple soap stack in the flavor(s) of their choice! 
Oooooo. 
I really want you to check them out but I really want to win this one!