Where you come from

My great-great grandparents settled into a small south Georgia town in the early 1900s. My family would live there until 1981, when my parents moved us to north Georgia (and for many reasons, I'm so glad that they did). Now, none of the family lives there, although my grandmother is buried there, and my grandfather will be buried there, too.

Recently, we went camping nearby, so we drove over so that I could show Mike what I remembered from childhood.

And, we drove past this beauty. I have no actual memories of this house, only stories passed along. It was the McDowell house, built by those great-great grandparents. My second son is named McDowell, specifically to honor the great-grandmother who grew up here.

I was struck by both the beauty and size of the house, but also the realization that in the end, stuff is just stuff. What gets passed along to the next generation sometimes involves stuff (but for my family, it didn't include the house--someone else owns it now), but more importantly? It involves family legacies. It involves the feelings and memories of our childhoods. The values and priorities that were and are important. The importance of a relationship with Jesus. These are the things that stick after 30 or 40 or more years.

These are the things I want to pass along. So, when I look at this beautiful picture of an old house, I hope that I'm reminded to concentrate on the things that will last. To pour into the hearts of three little boys and make them as full as I can. Cause that's the legacy that will stand the test of time.

I recently read Danny Silk's Loving our Kids on Purpose. It was just what I needed to remind me of the high calling that God has given me when he blessed me with these little hearts. I highly recommend it.

No matter what your intentions or goals are as a parent, the fact is that you are cultivating a loving or fearful spiritual environment in your home, and that is what is really influencing your children.--Danny Silk

Another glimpse of spring

 

Christmas Presents

The best Christmas presents this year were the intangibles. I have a four year old, and I'm convinced that this is the best age EVER to experience Christmas. Every single thing was magical and fun, from seeing Santa at the mall to riding the Pink Pig to donating our old toys to Goodwill. Every. single. stinking. thing. It was wonderful to see him jump up and down when he opened a much desired Lego set, and he has played and enjoyed all of his toys for days. So fun.

My husband took off the week before Christmas for vacation, instead of the usual week between the holidays. This was great for us--it really allowed the Tomato King to get in on the excitement of the holidays, without, as he puts it, the post Christmas hangover. It's the 28th now, he's back at work, and I have to say, he has something there.

But...

I got a lot of cool stuff this year, too, so I thought I'd share some of the highlights.

Mrs. Meyers lemon verbena counter spray. I'd read about it over at The Nester, mentioned it to my mom, and voila! I had some to open on Christmas Day. And, yes, it really is all that.

Also from my mom. Anchovy paste. I know, not something you always get excited about, but I actually love anchovies, and this makes it really easy to use them.

This cutie! No, I didn't get him for Christmas, but I did get this awesomely soft, sweet, I want to wrap myself in it, hemp jersey blanket. I love it, he loves it. All is good in the world. And, yes, that's eczema you see on his face, probably due to the cheese I sampled at the Mexican market before I remembered, um, cheese=dairy. Duh.

Kitsch! These might be my favorite present. Vintage Tervis tumblers. There are 2 more, but I was impatient, and they are still in the dishwasher. Very, very (very!) cool, though. Both Mike and I adore these.

Thanks to Jessica at Craftily Ever After, I printed out this very cool JOY picture. A Christmas present from someone who doesn't even know I exist. Everyone loves me. :)

It wouldn't be Christmas without new reading material. I finally own one of my favorites, Cheap Fast Good, so I can stop checking it out from the library. I also got a fabulous cookbook Bon Appetit, Y'all, and this great magazine, Where Women Cook, that was so frivolous and expensive I didn't even ask for it. I was thrilled to read it, though!

New kicks! My old shoes didn't fit well after my last pregnancy, and I no longer have an excuse for not exercising.

I may return these.

And this wasn't a gift for me, but turns out, it really was. Mike has needed glasses for a LONG time. He's just been too *insert whatever word you want here* to go get them. So, with time off this week, he went and got cool new glasses. Yay. Why is this a present for me?? Cause I no longer have to listen to a single complaint about how he can't see. I'm claiming this present all for me. Thanks, honey!

And, to top it all off, we got this great new Flip video camera, which allows my oldest to show just how excited he is over being alive.

Thankful

As I count my blessings this year, I'm thankful for our warm, cozy little house. It's in such a great location, so sweet, so fun, and so me. I think my mom is one of the few people that realize just how me it is.

We lost our last house because of bad circumstances, combined with some stupid financial moves. (not like Vegas stupid, and in different times, we would have been okay, but hey, chance is chance, and you can always lose) So, part of me felt like we would need to pay penance for that and live in a terrible efficiency apartment in the ghetto while we got our acts together.

But, God is GOOD. And that's not what has happened at all. Sure, there is restoration to do. We have some debt to pay off now. It will take us years to save up for another house. But, in the meantime, we are in a great place, just right for us. My children are thriving, my family is happy, and I have to pinch myself that I really live here now.

So, I'm thankful. Very thankful that even in our stupidity, God can make beauty out of ashes.

Thankful

This week, our Bible verse is 1 Thess. 5:16 In everything, give thanks.

And, so, I thought I'd share some of the things I'm thankful for.

I never thought I'd be the mama of even one son, much less three of them! What joy they bring to my life. What excitement. What energy. I love each and every day with them. Even the days when I escape to the grocery store after dark for a few minutes of quiet. This is really a fun season of my life, and I am thankful.

Tomorrow, I'll share a couple more of the things I'm thankful for. Join me this week as we give thanks to God for all that He has given us.

Mothering

I was all set to write this morning about the goings on in my life lately, but Amanda at Baby Bangs has already said it for me. Go over there--you'll laugh, you'll cry, and hopefully you'll send up a prayer for all of us in the throes of diapers and little sleep.

Five Years

There are times when five years feels like nothing. When I look over at my sweet firstborn, I'm in shock that he is 4 years old. It feels like yesterday that I got that positive pregnancy test.

And, yet, the couple that bought a house five years ago feel like complete strangers to us. Somehow, those two childless, double career folks turned into huge family people. We traded the Civic for a Suburban (!). We had three little boys in that time period. And, we went through a huge financial shift as we went from two careers to one career in building materials. In a record breaking recession. That hit building worst. Oy. So, somehow along the way the house that seemed perfectly appropriate for us turned into too much house. Too much payment. Too much money on maintenance. Just too much. And the choice seemed to be having me go back to work or to downsize our house.

That couple of five years ago might have chosen two careers again. That couple today? We are completely and totally committed to having one of us at home. And that meant that we chose to downsize.

What a choice. What a decision. What an opportunity to put feet on what we believe. It's been hard, and it's been a struggle; I won't lie. But, necessary and, in the end, we think a good decision. We prayed and we prayed. Then, we prayed some more.

And, so. We downsized. Into the most wonderful house. Next door to a park. With a flat, shady back yard for my three little boys to play in. This move has been life changing in so many ways. I feel very blessed that God has seen fit to bless us in the middle of lots of bad financial choices.

But what a lot of work! I'm so not the spring chicken that used to move every 18 months and think nothing of it. We've collected soo. much. stuff over the last five years. Stuff that we're going through and donating and thinning out. Stuff that we like, sure, but stuff that we are very sure is just stuff. Stuff is transient. Those little boys are forever. And, I'm glad we made this very hard choice. It's a good thing.

Weekly meal plan

Ah, Friday, and payday, and the start of another meal plan.

In my last 2 week cycle, I really saw the blessings of God. I took a meal to a friend with a new baby, entertained my inlaws for 3 days, bought all our regular groceries, and I still ended up with $5 left at the end of the week! So, rejoice with me that my money stretched so far. And we didn't even notice it at all. Not one little bit. How fun is that??!?

This week, I'm planning to cash in a gift certificate my husband won at Christmas. I'm picking up my honey baked ham on Sunday afternoon, so that'll be a few suppers, and it should provide lunches for much of the week as well.

Friday: black bean soup over rice

Saturday: eggs, toast, grits (breakfast), IKEA $1 meatballs (lunch), Longhorn takeout (supper--using up another Christmas gift card)

Sunday: bagels (breakfast), ham sandwiches, maybe soup if we get home in a timely manner (lunch), pasta with ricotta and broccoli rabe, beet salad (supper)

Monday: honey baked ham, creamed corn, green salad

Tuesday: kofta kabobs, hummus, pita bread, tzatziki sauce

Wednesday: spaghetti ham pie, salad

Thursday: salmon croquettes, rice, some sort of veggie

As always, orgjunkie has a huge party with lots of bloggers and their meal plans every Monday. Check it out!

Lent

I'm very, very Protestant. My three year old is in the midst of the many "whys", and we have a little routine when he asks why something is that something.

"why are you protestant?"

"Well, buddy, I was born protestant. My mother was protestant. My father was protestant. I was born this way, and I'll die this way. I'm a protestant."

All that to say, growing up, Lent was some sort of foreign concept. Something those people did. With the chief definition of those people being, well, Yankees, of course.

Somewhere in high school, I got interested in Lent, though, and I figured out that it was a fast of sorts. And, I tried it out. I think the first few years were about just doing it because I could. Over the years, most years, I've fasted from something during the Lenten season. I'm still not completely sure of all this Lent stuff, but these days, it's a good time for me to fast and pray and draw closer to God. All good things.

I've talked my sweet husband into fasting along with me, too.

This year, I gave up, wait for it... Cokes!! As any reader of this blog can tell you, I love cokes. And, being from the south, "cokes" is a category that includes anything with bubbles. So, I'm bubble-less for 40 days. Sounds silly, but I really do enjoy my carbonated beverages. ~smile~ And, for me, one of the big parts of fasting is a bit of a continual reminder that I'm giving something up and an opportunity to replace that object with prayer.

So, instead of enjoying a coke during naptime, I'm enjoying some quiet time with God. Instead of strapping my babies in the backseat and rushing to Sonic for a happy hour drink before the 4:00 cut-off time, I'm throwing up a flare prayer to help me make it through the afternoon.

And, it's been a sweet time.

This year, Mike gave up sweets (oh, my!), but we also decided to do something new. We are fasting from meat on Fridays. Technically, this isn't that hard for us. We almost always eat meat-less at least one day a week. We like beans, and this isn't a huge hardship. But, for us, the beauty has been in the joint fast. It's been surprising to me to feel so connected to him in this time of fast.

We've fasted before, but giving up different things. To us, there's just something different this time about giving up the same thing. I love this journey, and the turns and twists it takes us on. Always learning something new. Figuring out a little bit more about "kingdom come" and a little bit more about marriage. Sometimes together. And sometimes without a lot of pain on the way there.

Always a good thing.

The little blessings

with my door prize bag of flour

with one of the presenters, Julie

the main presenter, Pam (who makes a mean pie crust with 1 stick of butter per crust!)

We serve a very good God, don't we?

When I made my Christmas list this year, I included "cooking classes." I didn't think that I would really get them, but it sparked something in me, and I all of a sudden really wanted them! I had taken a series of 4 classes when I was newly pregnant with my firstborn, and they were a lot of fun. Even as I battled nausea through her cooking in front of us. I still remember the smell of one particular creme de menthe drink (the classes were straightforward, but very retro in feel). Despite that horrid green drink (LOL), I still really enjoyed those classes.

I get money for Christmas every year, and I had decided that I would splurge this year and take some classes. I'm in a lull without a baby attached to me, and I wanted to take advantage of it. Classes around here run $40-$50, so I figured I would find one class, and that would be enough.

Imagine my surprise when I've been blessed this winter with the opportunity for FOUR cooking classes, all for free!!!! Last night, I attended a baking demonstration by King Arthur Flour about pie crusts (completely free!). And, my grocery store/international market is having a series of Asian cooking classes in January and February. I signed up quickly when I saw the sign for those, too. Those cost $10, but they are giving away a $10 gift certificate at the end of class. I shop there anyway, so it's basically a free class.

Both classes so far have been fun, and I'm looking forward to the next two. And the best part is that God really did hear the desires of my heart and honor them. Sometimes it is the little things that are the really big things, you know?