Living it up

I recently had surgery on my right foot. I was banned from driving and nearly all forms of practical movement.  It's been tough.  

But when the goin' gets tough, the tough... rent a motorized scooter.  

It's always a party over here on Main St.!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Third time is a charm

Meet Heidi.

She's my neighbor, fish donator, history & science teacher, extra pantry, gardening partner, loan closet, emotional therapy, DVD kiosk and source for a lot of laughter.  

We're also hospital buddies.

Not once...

Not twice...

but THREE times.... so far

We're holding down the fort while our husbands are across the pond sunning in the sand for 6-months.   Sometimes we get restless and need a little excitement.  

Some girls party, some girls get pedicures, some girls watch soaps... we hospital hop.  

We disturb the peace & nurses come to balk at our antics.   It's a fun ride!

Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away. - Pvb 27:10

The Delights of Life...

April has been so much fun over here!

John Z. turned TEN and got his DOD I.D. card!!

 

Nana came for a visit and introduced JZ to the wonderful world of "Owl Pellets"- He'd be thrilled to tell you everything he knows about the subject next time you talk with him!

Daniel just finished a season of gym hockey...

And LOVED it!!

Our kind neighbor is encouraging Josiah out of training wheels!  His "Big-boy-bike" confidence is rising...stay tuned!!

Josiah rocked Geography Night with his excellent and eager explanation of "Kite Fighting" in Afghanistan.  He was completely in his element in this role. 

Almost daily, JoyAnna spends time practicing funny faces in the mirror.  She's becoming quite a natural.  I think she gets it from her father.

She loves her ballet class and delighted us with this sweet, butterfly performance.  

Bryan is full of some fabulous photos of his own...but you'll just have to ask him about those for yourself.  

And me?  Well, I've spent my free time playing on the computer...  

It has been a great April on Main St.... and we're only half way through!

Mama loves her some movies

Have you ever entered into the "quantity vs. quality time" debate?   Do you want lots of time with your friend or more meaningful time, but less of it?


I have four amazing children.  I also get to homeschool them.  And I get to be a full-time parent while our favorite husband & father is overseas.  I think that I've got the "quantity" part of the equation down.


However, I really admire Mamas who spend "quality time" with their kids.  You know, purposed, intentional time.  Time focused on an individual child for a specific purpose.  


That sounds so cool to me.


But when push comes to shove, spending a couple hours with my feet up in front of a good movie sounds better.  Yeah, it's my quest for sanity and survival that wins out every time.


This year, I decided to embrace my screen time and invite my children into some "quality" time with Mama.  


We've started "Movies with Mama" where each child gets to watch a movie with me once or twice a week (depending on my surgery schedule, we might bump that up to three times a week! )

John Z. and I have finished the Back to the Future series and are starting in on Indiana Jones.

Daniel and I are making our way through superhero movies... first stop: Superman with Christopher Reeve.  We think he rocks!

Josiah and I kick back with some Rocky & Bullwinkle.  I figure that a 52 episode DVD set will keep us busy for a few months (thank you Uncle Dante).

JoyAnna is eager for some girl shows- Angelina Ballerina is currently on our docket.  

Okay, so my growing up family is probably shocked beyond reason.  India thinks movies are quality time...whaaatt?!?  Lemmie tell ya, wonders never cease.  It's a fun ride!

It's APRIL!!

Happy April to you!  

Happy end of Rice & Beans Month to us!!

We've all agreed to pass up pranks and jokes for a eagerly awaited celebration weekend!

This weekend we are staying in a local hotel and eating lots of our favorite foods.  

(sausage biscuits, lunch wraps, Chipotle, chocolate, popcorn, soda and tortilla chips are on our list for today!)

We made a little sacrifice for a lot of joy.  It was SO worth it!

4 days left and wondering...

Daily JoyAnna (4) asks "How many days until Rice & Beans Month?"  What she really wants to know is how many days until R&B month is over.  I smile every time she asks it.  Today we're down to four more days!


This week I've been wondering too.  We're nearing the end of this journey and I've been looking at what's before me and wondering...


On Friday, I asked a friend to join me for coffee.  Then I began to wonder.  Should I spend money on the coffee?  Coffee isn't really necessary for the joy of meeting and visiting.  Should I sip water instead?  I  decided to order a coffee.  The guy asked if I wanted anything else.  Nope.  Then he gave the coffee to me for free.  Free.  No money. 


Big deal, right?  We've all gotten something unexpectedly free.  It's cool, but nothing to sing over.   But I was pretty excited.  


On Friday, a friend offered to go to the grocery store for me.  Sweet!  I was compiling my list and came to a note to buy eggs.  Eggs.  Hmmm... Since the discovery of R&B flour, we've used nearly a dozen eggs.  It sure would be nice to have a new supply. I began to wonder.  Should we spend money on the eggs?  Did we really need them?  Only one week left, could we go without?  I didn't get the eggs.


On Saturday, we received a flyer in the mail with this:

I must have read the thing 10 times before it really settled in on me.  Eggs.  Free eggs for us!


I'm not going to take this too far over the edge, but I must say that I thank God for being the Giver of all good things. 


We have chosen to join a global community in eating rice & beans for the month of March. Naturally, this chosen fast makes us more sensitive to food provisions.  


I'm so thankful that ultimately food is not the fast that God desires.  He's going for our hearts.  And in this journey of heart-change, God is pleased to DELIGHT me with His extravagant love and kindness... and some yummy treats!

8 days to go...

Last week, I read about putting dry rice & dry beans into a coffee grinder to make flour.  

Do you realize how cool that is?  

Do you want to hear something a little crazy?

I have a grain mill.  We bought it in 2004 and have been milling away ever since.  However, it didn't even occur to me to put rice & beans into it. Rice & beans into a grain mill.  My life has changed forever.

It's flour, friends.  

Flour during Rice & Beans month is a beautiful thing.  Beautiful.

JoyAnna has been singing about the flour.  Really, we're very excited about it.

That's when St. Patrick's met Rice & Beans Month. We made green(ish) hummus with rice & bean discs for dipping.  Yay!  And then spinach salad & rice balls for supper. 

 It's a good life here on Main St.