TreasuresInTerraCotta

Andrew and Truman spend some time together every day. Pictures are from June and July.     Guess who gave Little Brother antlers!?! And today... A Band-Aid courtesy of Andrew...not an injury...just a Band-Aid-decoration!  

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp I was introduced to the joy of Ann Voskamp's blog a few years ago.  Her lyric style of writing, beautiful photography and rich spiritual leaning cause her blog to top my short-list of regularly visited sites. When  One Thousand Gifts hit the shelves I put it on my wishlist, but ultimately decided to borrow it from the library.  Funds and shelf space are increasingly limited.  I waited on the waiting list. And then I read...late into the night...I filled it with tabs; moved by the words, aching with sad familiarity, hoping for revelation, feeling the illumination that only happens when the Holy Spirit whispers truth.  The beginning of the story goes like this. See if you can relate to any part: I wake to the discontent of life in my skin. I wake to self-hatred. To the wrestle to get it all done, the relentless anxiety tha...

One day recently the boys and I were sitting in McDonalds.  Calvin said, "I want apples instead of fries." Andrew chimed in, "Apples!"  I chuckled to myself, proud and somewhat amazed, that my kids would rather have apples than fries.  And irritated that I forgot to order them. Then pretty soon Calvin said, "These chicken nuggets don't taste good." He ate three or four of them, but I had to cajole Andrew to finish two, saying something ridiculous like, "Finish your deep fried pressed chicken parts. You need a healthy lunch to give you energy."  There are multiple levels of irony there! Meanwhile I was wondering what my tray would have looked like if I had "gone large" since I already had a mound of fries and half gallon of Diet Coke.  (Yes, I also see the irony of Diet !) And when the magic Yoda toy appeared I wondered how long I would have to wait until it magically disappeared. I am not even kidding w...

My Thursday Bible study group is beginning again.  We take a break for summer, but the local school district started school last week...so we're back at it too.  We'll be going through this "chapter book."  Life Interrupted by Priscilla Shirer.  I am not leading this study, but I wanted to exted the invitation in case you're interested in joining us in person or here in cyber space.  It's always more fun to do Bible studies and book studies together.   I'll post the reading schedule as soon as possible.

How many posts have I created about books?  I just can't get around it. I love books. I love to read.  And in fact, I recently found myself feeling frustrated. Tired of cleaning. Bored with cooking. Wearied with the heat. Wandering around the house aimlessly while boys were napping or happily occupied elsewhere.  I repeatedly opened the refrigerator, or wiped off the counters, or flipped through a magazine, or checked email, or looked at my bookshelves. And nothing really satisfied. Is it geeky to feel, "I just need something to read." I finally reserved a few books at the library, ordered a couple new books and looked at my reading wish-list.  So... Since Truman was born I: finished reading I Dared To Call Him Father by Bilquis Sheikh read Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis read The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp read When Heaven Weeps by Ted Dekker read Organized ...

When I created my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days this sounded like a fun idea: #20 Take a family vacation with my sister’s family (other than camping) This week we headed to the J.W. Marriott in Phoenix to take advantage of summer-fun rates.    My sister and I.  Six cousins.  Now aged 6, 5, 4, 2, 1 and 0 (10 weeks).  My mom lives nearby and came over each day.  It was great to have grandma help with the kiddos, eat some meals together and enjoy a little swim time.  Calvin and Andrew ready to swim.  They are both fish!  Fire. Water. Earth. Sky. July in Phoenix provides plenty of each.  My boys! The Lazy River was a big hit. Truman in his Hawaiian shirt.  No swimming for baby this year. Best Cousins! My sister and I were fairly close to our cousins but we never really traveled or vacationed with them.  It's exciting to think our kids will have memories of being to...