shhhh.....

What can I say at this moment? Often times, when I'm blogging, I don't actually look for a picture to represent my thoughts until after I have written. The right picture always seems to present itself and that is a lot of the fun of blogging. This time, I'm actually working in reverse. I'm just looking for an excuse to use this picture. =) I found it yesterday when I was trying to help Snow upload a cute image to her new cell phone. She ended up choosing a kawaii picture of a mama cat and her kittens. Really, this picture makes me think of my three girls and their individuality, but I'm way to hyper right now to go into all that. So I think I will simply post my new flowers and keep my thoughts to myself.

natural beauty...

Why is it that we have to tell ourselves things like, "follow your heart?" Shouldn't that come naturally?

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do."

(I didn't make that up. I saw it on a piece of jewelry. )

hunter gatherer...

I don't know why I have this hoarding mentality, but I am a pack rat, collector, treasure monger. I like to gather up beautiful things and precious things and tuck them away. The problem is that I'm so good at this, that I often forget about the things that I've stored so neatly as I'm moving on to the next. I guess this isn't so tragic when referring to little charms and books and baby clothes, but I think this tendency applies to other areas of my life. There are things in my life that I love dearly and I don't want anything to happen to them, so I tuck them under my arm as I go about seeking a new adventure, another blessing. There's something in me that trusts that they will always be there and there's an excitement in me that can't wait to enjoy what I have, but the tendency is there to be forward moving adding to my stash of promising beauty. Lord, please help me grab hold of what I have before I become like the dog who loses his bone trying to get another from his own reflection.

rain rain....

It's raining! =) I love rain! I also love the cool weather we've been having this summer. I know I've probably complained just as much as everyone else, but really, it's been lovely. It's like the longest spring ever! And I love spring. Why do we always have to complain about the weather? If it's hot, we wish it were cold. If it's cold, we wish it were hot. I'm in love with this weather, and tomorrow if it's 90 degrees I'm going to love that too.

for you...

Something beautiful for my two most devoted followers. You make my day. Love you!!!!

sweet character...

Snow's result from the "What famous literary character are you?" quiz.

Snow is Frodo Baggins from J.R.R. Tolkien's most famous fantasy series. She's one of the most kind and loyal friends a person can have. She's committed to always doing what she feels is right, even if she doesn't always succeed. Her purity and devotion can turn some people away, but most love her and consider her trustworthy. Despite her rather timid disposition, she's actually exceedingly brave when the time calls for it. She's driven by a powerful sense of duty, even if she's most comfortable living a dull, boring life at home. Most would criticize her for being naive, but their opinions don't matter to her. She may not be very multidimensional, but who needs depth when she's got so much happiness? =)

right-of-way...

Yay..I'm back to blogging. Now I just need to get back to riding my bike and eating healthy and doing a morning devotion. I guess I should have mentioned that first- kind of important. I think I can...I think I can... I think I can...

unexplainable...

I wish I could remember what Snow said to me the other day. I don't even remember what we were talking about. Oh yeah... I think I was complaining that I wasn't going to get to go on my bike ride because it was raining. Snow said something like..."I don't know why people are so afraid to get wet, I like going out in the rain." I guess it wasn't so profound, which is probably why I didn't blog about it right away, but there was something about that coming from Snow that sort of stuck with me. It is so like her to say something like that. She is definitely her own little person. It doesn't matter to her what everyone else is doing, but at the same time she is so unrebellious about it. Like taking a walk in the rain- it's bold, yet utterly humiliating. I know I am way too deep about these things, but I feel that there's so much more to this than I am able to express.

The idea makes me think of the time that Ben's mom told me how sometimes you have to love someone, even if they don't love you back. I was wrestling with the feeling of not being angry with someone who was treating me poorly, I think. I don't remember, but anyway this is the thing that Snow has mastered. Most of the world says, "who cares what they're doing" and that fuels they're own decisiveness or "who cares what they think" and that helps them get over being hurt. But I do care, so I become trapped. I'm not able to brush things off in order to move on. Snow cares deeply about other people, but she doesn't let those cares drive her around. She knows how to care and keep right on walking, her own way, inoffensively, even if she's drenched to the core, and she never looks back.

I know this won't make sense to anyone but me, but it's my blog, right?
Snow knew that I was blogging about her when I wrote this, so I let her read it, because I wanted to see if it made any sense whatsoever. She said I did a good job of explaining something that's unexplainable. =)

jane eyre...

I like this. It takes all my bad points and makes them sound so nice...

(my results from the quiz-what famous literary character are you?)

I am Jane Eyre from Charlotte Bronte's classic masterpiece. I spend much of my life torn between the desires of my heart and the choices I feel are most logical. I'm a smart person who is very resilient, romantic, strong, and forgiving. I have a lot of love to offer people, if they're willing to look past my eccentricities to find it. I spend much of my time in a state of humble, thoughtful silence, yet I'm not afraid to get assertive when the situation calls for it. I've never been one to conform to society's rules, even if that means making unpopular decisions. People will try to change me, but I'll never let them. Above all else, I'm a Romantic with my own set of beliefs and desires. In the end, everyone knows I'm going to make the right decision.

stolen treasure...

I love my blog. Sometimes I like to come here just to look at the pictures. Because I spend so much time picking them out, and thinking about what I want to say, these images now carry special meaning for me. Each one represents a feeling or a memory, which is awesome, because I love these old pictures. I feel like I have stolen them and made them mine.

the perfect date...

My favorite thing to blog about...date night. Emmeli really knows how to plan a date. There's no driving around in the car trying to think of something to do. She has it all planned out. Last night she wanted to go to McDonald's to get chicken nuggets & french fries. (Apparently she didn't know what a happy meal was, so the Beanie Baby was a total surprise. She now wants to go back next date night so she can start a collection.) After McDonald's she wanted to go to the toy store. So we did, & she hopped about on the colored squares on the floor. Then we looked at toys for about 5 min. before she came to the sidewalk chalk. She knew immediately that that was what she wanted -not at all like her mother in that respect. She wanted to leave right away so we could use it before it got dark. So we drove to the school park and drew a rainbow and some flowers on a bit of white concrete. I wrote Mom loves Emmeli, and then Emmeli wanted to show me how she could do the monkey bars all by herself. After that, I pushed her on the swing, & then I wrote Emmeli Mountain on the brand new black top, and Emmeli helped me color the petals of my white daisy with rainbow colors. She trailed behind me trying to catch crickets as we made our way back to the car.

When we got home, I scooped some vanilla ice-cream for us & topped it with blueberry crisp; and we sat in front of the computer to watch SpongeBob on Youtube. That was actually my idea, but Emmeli was happy to watch while we ate our dessert. We watched SpongeBob-Skill Crane. I hadn't seen that one. I felt like I had though, because one afternoon Daniel recited the whole thing for me almost word for word. Well, after that we played Indiana Jones -Lego version, which was what she really wanted to do. We didn't play for long. That game is really frustrating. Anyway it was time for sleep, so I brushed Emmeli's teeth & my teeth at the same time and it was off to bed. This picture is the perfect representation of our evening together. I felt like I was being led around by little Emmeli who was in complete control. Even when we played the video game she was saying, "Come on Mom, I know the way." Don't I look beautiful in that bonnet?

queen of the moment...

"You know what makes me special... having you for a mom." ~Emmeli (completely out of the blue as she was sitting on the counter watching me prepare to make blueberry crisp)

classic...

This morning we were listening to classical music while eating breakfast and it was seriously getting on my nerves. It was just one of those songs that, no matter how amazing of a work, it's just plain annoying. So with great composure I said something like, "If someone doesn't turn that off, I'm going to lose my mind!" Then Hannah said, "That's probably why I've been getting so many headaches...too much classical music." So Daniel said, "Hannah, classical music makes you smarter." She said, "I know. That's why it gives me a headache."

yuck...

Trader Joe's organic chocolate chip cookies are gross. I don't know why I keep buying them.