From the Garden and into the Garden

This past month has given me numerous opportunities to quickly put together

a bouquet from the garden.

I wish it were always so easy!

 But maybe that is the joy of this short season . . .

beauty in the blooms that appear almost as though to tease us.

It's around this time that I head to the nursery and fill my trunk with

those that will last all summer long.

The old pots come out of the shed and get a good scrub.

I remove old roots and turn over the soil, adding some new potting soil.

I line up the purchased little plants and stuffers alongside the pots

they should go in.

and then simply scoop out a place for each plant and tuck them in.

They get some fertilizer with their first watering and

then I anticipate the joy of blooms taking us right into Fall.

But let's  not go there yet.

One Year of Gratitudes

It came in a brown paper package in the mail one year ago . . .

a little blue book which she suggested I use as a

Gratitude Journal.

So I have had it in open view in our family room this past year

to remember to daily write down two or three "thankfuls"

Last week I got to #1000!

I knew others had done this and there was no reason not to.

So, today I'm grateful for Kari starting me off

and to God for giving me more than 1000 reasons to give thanks!

To name a few

 . . .

   a moment of quiet

   for a walk in the park

  God's protection

    visit around a fire pit

    sleeping in

    shopping for summer tops

    rhubarb pie

    God's Word to encourage

     finding an old lace tablecloth and distressed wood

    chiropractor treatment

    dinner at friends

joy of serving

tooth implant done

Rollkuchen and watermelon 

forgiveness

God's faithfulness

texts 

pedicure

a day at home in the kitchen

for the dads raising our grands

lunch with my girls

jam cooking

watching cousins play

good relationships

my mom

coffee brewing

new shoes

God's loving kindness

facetime smiles

very special news!

God's sovereignty

tender-hearted grands

a husband who loves coming home

granddaughter tea party

peach jam

health

pitter patter of rain

the park with kids

a good book to read

talking to God anytime

shopping date

holding a new born 

skype-time

my heritage

(snail) mail

friends

seeing traditions passed on in my kids

the smell of wet earth

clean windows

birthdays

. . .

From one Mom to Another

I don't live all of my life with an actual camera or phone in my hand, so the scene I took in for breakfast this morning was taken with my eyes. She had set the table with butter yellow place mats, checkered teal with yellow cloth napkins, white dishes and a colorful fruit salad. Each setting had a name tag and beside my plate there was a card and a poem written out in her handwriting. A cinnamon french toast strata had just come out of the oven and he was finishing up with the bacon. Four kids were dressed for church . . . one checking out her verse for Sunday school, one the soccer game on TV, one just mulling about and one taking in the scene from her high chair, where she was sucking on a cracker.

The breakfast was delicious, the poem wetting my eyes, but the privilege to be a part of this close by family on this morning when she did not want us to be alone meant even more . . . especially when it's her that is in the thick of mothering.
Now, it's not like I've never been put right into this scene before. In fact, isn't it just a moment of her daily life, stepped up a bit with nice clothes and actually setting a table? But somehow, as I observed my grown up girl, I could not help but be in awe of what she does to get everyone ready and out the door within minutes, barely time to think about herself . . . eyes always on the look out, shutting that sliding door for possibly the third time, seeing feet that needed socks, another's with the wrong shoes on, wiping mashed banana from a baby's dress and off we go.

 Kristal, you are amazing!

For all the rocking and singing to sleep you needed . . .

I am truly blessed to be your mom.

And seeing as I'm in that sandwich generation . . .

I'm so thankful to still have my mom!

 And to be able to celebrate her with my family too.

I hope you all have felt that profound sense of blessing in some way this week!

Letting go to Receive

So God made a mother . . .
Someone who would pour out and bend down and surrender not only to the physical pain of childbirth but the far deeper, unending heart pain of letting go, letting go, letting go –  from the womb, from the arms, from the front door.  Ann Voscamp's mother's day tribute, May 9, 2014)

Ann Voscamp's  words hit home, maybe because I read them as our kids were packing up to leave for Indonesia but, to be sure, the thing that has surprised me the very most about motherhood has been the aspect of the continual letting go and finding the blessing even in, and because of, it.

We let go, so they can take their first step, ride a two wheeler, swim across the pool, learn to read, find friends and make decisions. We let go of sleep, personal freedom and preferences, every stage with its new challenges as innocent babes turn into little people with their own minds and ambitions. Then, one day they pack the car and a piece of our heart leaves with them.

Is it reasonable to think that this intense love born out of our own flesh and will, is what yearns for this challenge, a teeter totter of love and letting go that far outweighs any expectations we could have ever had? It's a mystery, this love that was born when that tiny, helpless baby was first cradled against my body and I knew my life would never be the same. If the essence of giving life is about letting go, it has become part of my very breath and being and a daily renewal of life in me.

To be loved in return for letting go is when I realize how rich I am.

The Costco Dress

At $19.99 and knowing it can easily be returned, it wasn't a major decision to make.

I put it in the cart without trying it on, of course . . .

seeing the garden sheds aren't exactly set up as fitting rooms.

 In the meantime I've found out  how versatile this dress can be . . .

I mean . . . you can think of occasions ranging from the beach to a wedding.

It's easy to pack for travel and easy wash and wear care.

Go ahead . . . smile along with the gardener who quickly switched roles
when I handed him the camera. 

How would you wear this dress?

I sent her Cartwheel Shorts

It was a short tease, not having seen her since last summer.
So I have watched it over and over and over . . .
willing it to continue.