May 28, 2012

Multitude Monday #3096 - #3122...

"A good relationship has a pattern like a dance and is built on the same rules.  The partners do not need to hold on tightly, because they move confidently in the same pattern...To touch heavily would be to arrest the pattern and freeze the movement, to check the endlessly changing beauty of its unfolding...the joy of such a pattern is not only the joy of creation or the joy of participation, it is also the JOY OF LIVING IN THE MOMENT.  Lightness of touch and living in the moment are intertwined.  One cannot dance well unless one is completely in time with the music, not leaning back to the last step or pressing forward to the next one, but POISED DIRECTLY ON THE PRESENT STEP AS IT COMES."
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Giving thanks with the Gratitude Community for His unending gifts...

...boys snuggling with their Daddy...


...John 16:33 coming to mind as we were driving down the road...

...Will singing the chorus to this song and all of us joining in...


...Wes' hard work in our yard this spring...

...Eli's picture...
  



...the beautiful iridescent blue-green feathers of the peacock...




...seeing God's creative design...



...how Josh and Eli do a "teamwork" chant as they work together to clean up their room...

...their joy in throwing pennies in the fountain...

...Will asking me to read him books... 

...Shrimp Mango and Avocado Salad with Citrus Dressing...

...another opportunity to share the story that God has written for me to a room full of women...

...when Eli sees the crescent moon he forgets the name and says "Look it's a present moon."...

...breakfast date with Josh...

...neighborhood sprinkler fun on a warm day...



...encouraging emails...

...hearing the words..."I love that book."... 

...an afternoon rest spent outside under the maple tree...



...a gift of a vase full of gerber daises... 

...seeing Micaiah at the potter's wheel and when I hear the potter say "now I need to press the clay really hard to shape it"... thinking on Isaiah 64:8



...listening to the O's game on the radio just like I remember doing with my grandmother...

...an beautiful evening to enjoy an outdoor concert and milkshakes too... 






...hearing Will sing something as we left the concert and then realizing he was singing..."We got the funk"...

 ...hydrangeas beginning to burst with color... 
 
...cousins together again... 






...a very short basketball game with Wes where he was hoping for "flagrant fouls"...




...him coming toward me with that look... 




  

May 16, 2012

Multitude Monday #3071 - #3095...

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."
Cynthia Ozick

Giving thanks with the Gratitude Community for His unending gifts...

...the way he smiles when he is with his Daddy...

...a fun night out with friends...good food, good conversation and even better laughter...

...not having to pay a babysitter for the fun night mentioned above...my dad took care of putting all of the boys down for bed...

...him with his communion cup...

...a neighborhood barbecue...

...Micaiah's heartfelt prayer for his uncle...

...how we all stood in a circle of prayer in the backyard...

...watching his baseball game in the pouring rain...

...that my mom was able to see one and half innings of him pitching before they called the game because of the rain...

..my husbands consistent progress and motivation with his Fit Challenge at work...

...this little guy and how he wants to be with you wherever you go...



...the basket of balls, helmets and swords overflowing behind the front door...

...library books lining the sunroom window sill...

...Joshua's excitement over a few of his old favorites...

...a running hat for a rainy day...

...big beautiful clouds in the sky...

...Micaiah's idea of planting me a garden for Mother's Day...and how he told me all of the information about each flower they planted...



...how Wes helped them by taking them to buy seeds and how they worked all afternoon preparing the ground, lining it with bricks, planting and watering...


...how my brother and I talked about the story of the Prodigal Son...

...my dad watching Micaiah warm up...


...watching his baseball game...








...God giving me eyes to see how my words were not those that were making souls stronger...

..."Joyful Joshua" and the way he lights up when I call him... 

...his Mother's Day poem..."You're so cool, you're not a fool.  You're making my dinner, you're a winner."


...another opportunity to share the story that God has written for me (I would appreciate your prayers please)...


  

May 7, 2012

Multitude Monday #3047 - #3070...

"Always be thankful."
Colossians 3:15

Giving thanks with the Gratitude Community for His unending gifts...

...a ride on our front tree swing (yes, I begged the boys to push me)...

...revisiting an old favorite...Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh


...this insight from the book...
"Moon shell...you will remind me that I must try to be alone for part of each day, even for an hour or a few minutes in order to keep my core, my center, my island quality.  You will remind me that unless I keep the island-quality intact somewhere within me, I will have little to give to my husband, my children, my friends or the world at large.  You will remind me that woman must be still as the axis of a wheel in the midst of her activities; that she must be the pioneer in achieving this stillness, not only for her own salvation but for the salvation of family life..." 

...a conversation with a loved one that brings change...

...knowing that WITH Christ all things are possible...

...watching Will and Taylor dance in the kitchen and then snuggle on the couch...


...him in his Daddy's shoes...



...finally having the courage to tackle the mound of laundry that is growing day by day...


...hearing him say "I felt the sky and it's warm so I put shorts on."

...listening to him sing a song to the birds hoping they will sing back to him... 

...a rhododendron ready to bloom... 


...the "funny little clown" in the book  The Little Engine That Could and how God uses my time reading to the boys to speak to me...

...their excitement as I read...

...a morning with my best friend that always listens and encourages while our kids play...



...buttermilk pancakes...

...how he greets his friend...



...my husbands example in parenting in our boys...

...his Parthenon lego creation with Athena inside (not quite finished yet)...


...Joshua's question "Why was it His love that kept Him on the cross?" and the explanation that followed...

...reading Matthew 12:43-45 in the Divine Hours and pondering about this in my life and in the life of those I love...

...an awesome game of scooter tag...


...a babysitter that sends me pictures of her time with the kids...

2012-05-03 10.27.15(1)

...a long run on a misty morning... 

...how he brings me this rhododendron flower and when I  ask him how he got it..."I climbed the tree so I could bring it to you."



  

May 3, 2012

Sunny Days...

here are some pictures that my Aunt took last week during our visit to the beach... 

May 1, 2012

Multitude Monday #3046...


Giving thanks with the Gratitude Community for His unending gifts...

...a week away with family...