Stay focused little one...

I love when you come across interesting things that make you stop and think.

I was working at Jason's office this week and noticed some stuff on his window, the closer I looked it was the perfect outline of a bird. 

I mean perfect- from the spread of it's wings to it's beak and small feathers on it's chest. 

The poor bird saw a reflection of the sky in the window and slam, bam and ouch...

I hope that little bird survived the impact but it made me think about my life... 

stay focused...

don't be distracted...

 slow down
and
enjoy the flight!

Happy Friday!

Can you see the perfect outline of the bird?

Tomato lesson...

This year we conducted an experiment with our tomatoes.
We put the walls of water on one plant and nothing on the other to see if the walls really did matter.

Here is our tomato plant with the walls of water...

Without...

Our conclusion?
Like the tomato plant who needs protection from the harshness of the weather, our children need protection from the harshness of the world. Yes, there are wonderful things that happen in our world but there are also bad influences that can lead our children astray and essentially 'wither' them away.
Our homes are so important, we need to make them a place of refuge, a place they look forward to...
Like Savvy always says, "Mom, I want to go home, it makes me happy."

My almost perfect day...

Lately I have been pretty sensitive to life being so short, my dear Grandmother's health is steadily declining and they are not sure she will be with us much longer.

Hearing the weekly updates about this sweet lady has been making me think about life
and how precious it is!

So today, there was a million things to do,
the usual-
breakfast, clean, bills, clean, yard work, clean,
lunch, clean, dinner, clean, plan, clean...
and do you know how much of it I got done?
NADA,
zilch,
nothing.
I am sure my kids get sick of hearing me say,
"just a minute, let me finish, hold on..."
So today we stayed in our pajamas, ALL day-
We played, read a million books, ate tons of treats, made cookies, ate the cookies, took some cookies to the neighbors, threw the football around, played in the water, ate popsicles until we were covered in oober-stickiness, danced to loud obnoxious music until our hearts pounded with delight, made huts, relaxed on blankets outside, planted our garden together, drew pictures and listened to Logan play the piano.
Of course a day wouldn't be a normal day without some fighting, peeing on the trampoline (courtesy of our almost 2 year old who is starting the potty training process), some broken dishes and needles stuck in toes (poor McKay)
It was
ALMOST
a perfect day...
The only thing that would of made this day
absolutely perfect
was to have had Jason with us.
He was gone to a real estate convention this weekend.
After the kids were in bed and I started to restore some order to our home,
I felt happy.
Life is so precious, short and full of so much good!
Sometimes the dishes, bills, cleaning and organizing can take a second row, our kids won't remember the clean house we had on this day, but they will remember the fun we had!

The parable of the splotchy grass...

The other day I was coveting my neighbors lawn,
which is the most PERFECT patch of grass I have ever seen.
Maybe it has something to do with him mowing it every other day, using scissors to trim the strays, fertilizing it weekly and observing it each night.
(mind you he is a retired gentleman).
I thought, "Why the heck does my grass look all splotchy and not perfect like his?"
So I walked on over and said, "Tell me your secret, how, how, how do you do it?"
He smiled at me and said, "I am raising grass, you are raising children."
I thought he is right.
For such a short time,
I won't have perfect grass, but I will have happy children prancing all over it.
I won't have clean walls, but I will have children wiping their messy hands all over it.
I won't have clean glass doors or windows, but I will have my children's eager faces pushed against them, awaiting the arrival of their daddy after a long days work.
So suddenly I realize I do like my imperfect grass because it means
I
am
raising
children
and the time will come when I will miss that.

So thank you my perfectly-perfect grass loving neighbor for sharing your secret.
Devote your time and energy to what you are raising and the outcome will be wonderful.

Life experiences with Suzy the pig...

While we were in Utah, G'pa and G'ma Lowder had a pregnant pig that was ready to give birth at any moment. The kids would check on 'Suzy' every visit. She ended up giving birth to 8 piglets, one died and she kicked one in the head on accident. Everyone tried to take care of the injured pig, especially Ashley who cuddled him and tried to help him feel better. But it was not meant to be and the little piglet died. It was a good time to talk about life with my kids because they were all pretty sad.

But besides the sad part-it was so neat to have the kids see the process of birth with animals and to see how protective the pig was with her piglets.
Thanks G'pa and G'ma!

G'pa Lowder helping the pig get a little more comfortable before she gives birth.

Suzy and her piglets...

Ashley trying to care for the injured pig she named, 'Babe'.

Ashley our future veterinarian holding Babe.

The parable of the pea...

I must say it has been hard having Jason gone at school so much.
I try to be the strong wife but at times it can be hard.
Last week I was feeling a little frustrated when I decided to go and look at our garden and as I was looking at my peas
(and for those of you who know me, know fresh peas are my favorite food in the universe)
I noticed a clump of eight pea vines totally and completely connected and they were the ones that were growing the strongest and producing the most peas.
Then the thought came to me that this is our family of eight,
it may be hard for our family right now but is making us stronger, closer and we are growing because of it and we will receive a great reward in the end...Jason's graduation!!

I felt a little wave of relief and an extra bit of energy to endure the next five months.
It was a great lesson to me!
I am pointing to the 8 vines below...

Look how tightly the family of peas are connected...
All families should hang on to each other like this!

The beautiful blossoms...

and then the reward of hanging on together...
PEAS!

I am grateful that Jason has had this chance to get such an amazing MBA education
at Berkeley and Columbia, the reward will be GREAT!

Tender mercies...

Life is short, childhood passes quickly. Just yesterday I came across a friend of mine who lost her 3 year old daughter in a car accident and I thought how precious life is and how short our time is with our children. They will be gone and on their own in no time and suddenly my endless list of chores and tasks didn't seem all that important. Usually I rush Savannah to her nap and then run like a mad women getting things done, but today I lay next to Savannah and tickled her face until she fell into dream land and I was so thankful for that moment because they are too few. I hope to make them more common occurrences because my children won't remember if they had a clean house today but they will remember how I made them feel.

To My Child
(author unknown)
Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry,
and pick you up and take you to the park to play.
Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink,
and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.
Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off,
and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.
Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.
Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies,
and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.
Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.
Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.
Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.
Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.
I will think about the mothers and fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of their bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore.
And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask him for nothing, except one more day...........