yuck

sorry gang. we are out cold over here. well, really, i am. have had a cold and then came down with a serious stomach bug. and my poor visiting parents have now also succumb to said stomach bug. so here we sit. watching the 6 hour pride and prejudice, drinking gingerale and wearing pajamas. i'll be back soon. so excited to start (really start) the Christmas season. actually got a wreath made this weekend and have put a few things up around the house. we're getting there. slowly but surely.

and i know i've talked about it recently-- when Kate started this whole stomach issue-- but i'm again so grateful that our God hears our prayers. the small and large issues. and my crazy small-turned-int-monumental-issues. He hears. He cares. He takes care. God is good. what a season of celebration we get to embark upon. so exciting.

back soon.

thankful

happy thanksgiving!!!!!

what a fabulous idea thanksgiving was. whoever started this fabulous holiday deserves some kind of library in their name or a statue or something. i love it. food, no pressure, gratitude and lovely people. community at one of its finer moments, i think. ours was filled with family, friends and gorgeous food (man i love food) and i will show you that all soon.

Having a huge sale on my etsy site this morning. please check it out. think about buying handmade for Christmas this year- it makes us home crafters SO happy when you do.



have a wonderful weekend. hope your homes are filled to the brim with laughter, community and more food. happy joy-season everyone.

sale and holidays

so i am having a sale on my etsy site this weekend. a good ol' Thanksgiving weekend sale. stuff will be 20% off through Cyber Monday. i'm excited to kick off this holiday season with some solid crafting. buy handmade for Christmas gifts this year. there is so much fabulous stuff out there. If you have an etsy site, PLEASE leave the link in the comments section so people can find you and supply their family members with your brand of awesome-ness.

i love this holiday season. i love thanksgiving- family will be here, a feast will be had and pie with dear friends. and then the beautiful Advent season is upon us. what a beautiful story. i think i will be starting an Advent series here in this space. i need reminders to keep the Christ child in my mind's forefront during the driving, buying, making and crazy. oh the Gift that was given. a joy-filled season that so often is filled with insanity. making effort now to slow my December-pace.

the life hurdles

the week of Thanksgiving. one of my favorite weeks of the year.



we're busy with leaf gathering/throwing, grocery shopping and afternoon walks and will soon get to spend all day in the kitchen. well. a couple of days.







my son is blowing me away this week with his knack for architecture. and i have to use this space to brag on him. he's so thoughtful and creative. he stares at these creations of his mid-tower, picks up a block and puts it in a place i NEVER would have thought of.







such a sweet little one.

but i'm fading fast already this morning. woke up around 3 to a crying daughter, cuddled her in bed for a bit and then the vomitting started. oh yes. so i was in the shower at 4am because... well... you know. and back to sleep for a bit before work this morning.

and as you're falling asleep praying that God would spare your little one from any more convulsions, it is such a comfort to remember His presence. i've been listening to this song (if you're not listening too: "Your Hands" by JJ Heller) for a few days now and just love how she doesn't try to say that things work out just as you want them to. there is no everything-will-be-fine in this song. just a reminder that He is stable. He is constans. and so everything will be as it ought. because He is forever constant.

and i know my middle-of-the-night and fevered baby don't qualify as huge life hurdles, but when you haven't slept and she's crying, it feels like it. and i'm so glad He's here. so glad that he sees me in my babies' dark room. He cares for her more than I do. He's there. He's with us. stable, steady, loving and strong.

and i'm so grateful.



He is faithful.



blessing on your week's beginnings, friends. may we begin and end with gratitude.

i'll show YOU gratitude... i got nothin

i couldn't find my hair brush this morning. a certain little girl has taken to wandering the house with it. and my bathroom smelled. and as i stood trying to yank a bright purple comb through my wet hair i reached a breaking point of crabby. and it wasn't even 8 o'clock yet. kate was whining about trains and i was pulling my scraggly hair through a tiny comb. and it was already too much for me to handle.

why is my joy so fleeting? my faithfulness so very fragile? i'm a willow tree bending wide and long after whichever breeze is blowing.

so i'm looking forward today. looking forward to a better road from here. for HIM to do good work in me. for HIM to be kind to my children. i will strive to keep my back to the wind of the Holy Spirit today and allow Him to propel me through the tasks, the smells, the tiny purple combs that will inevitably arrive.

He who promised is faithful.

giving thanks.

another Monday is upon us. and i'm wishing i could be at home cuddling with giggly little ones as the clouds today make me long for some tea and, well, giggles.

we had a full beautiful weekend. some good friends made a clay oven in their back yard and hosted a day of feasting on saturday.





pizza, pumpkin seeds, cookies and stuffed peppers just to start the long list. such deliciousness. and community. surrounding a smoking cave.





working alongside friends to bring food to the table is one of the best tasks. small kitchens and shared cookware-- dirty recipes and babies afoot. all beauty.





and the children played. dug a fort. fought with swords. little community.







and sunday brought us to our larger community. jason and i led the worship for our three services and once again experienced one of God's great blessings: worshipping Him. He is so incredible that He has made coming before Him and telling Him how awesome He is such a pleasurable thing. standing in front of my brothers and sisters and reminding, telling, being reminded of His greatness- His gifts- His goodness blows me away every time. i love worshipping with His body. He does mysterious and mighty things when we come together. community rocks.

and we closed the day with a quiet tradition. good friends and an early Thanksgiving.





we were exhasuted. and we were at just the right table-- delicious food and quality company.



and as my week begins today i am longing to hold fast to His mighty gifts. to not forget the work He has done in the lives around me and in my own heart. may the awesome reality of His truth, might and Gospel infect every area of my life this week. All the way to my kitchen sink dishwashing and readings of Cat in the Hat. He is there. He is here.

blessings on your Mondays, friends. may He infect every corner.

babies and surrender

around here, these past days, life has looked a little like this:

and i've been thinking so much about these little hearts and how they fit with mine.



saying such sweet things and loving the world around them. 'a squirrel momma!' yup. a squirrel. again. taking autumn walks with my explorers always leaves me smiling. they are such calm adventurers, my little ones.



looking for planes in the sky and marvelling, again, at the bright orange insides of the dull brown acorns.

and, friends, i'm trying not to succumb to my oh-so-dramatic tendencies-- but they are getting bigger. and they are saying things more correctly every day. and getting more acquainted with the ugliness of the world and of my heart. their eyes are opening to see more and asking questions about what they find. and i wish i could bring them back to that original paradise. i don't like the face my son makes when we talk about people disobeying God, the people banished from the garden and the lives that then followed. i hate that my little babies have that same ugliness inside them and will struggle towards obedience the rest of their lives. a delicate struggle that is sometimes easy-- but not always.

i know you moms know the feeling i'm writing about. i want to hold these precious heads next to me forever. and even though they are still small, i'm feeling a bit of the loss already of having to let them go. they are, after all, not mine.



and i'm praying that i will enjoy these days i get at home with them. that He would guide my actions and words. and that i would continue this daily surrender to Him of ALL things. He is the best of all caretakers.

pillows and birds

Thanks to Joey Bradley my pillows and birds were on display for Greenville's Open Studios this weekend. The gallery was just beautiful. different artists' work filling the space. lovely.



this was my corner.





and i manned the room for the afternoon on Sunday. and it was so wonderful. the branches and ornaments were such pleasant company and i felt so artsy and well, really cool, to be the go-to-person in the beautiful art gallery.




forgot my camera. thank you emily for these photos!!!

My life is such a strange mash of things currently. still working a professional job some days, diaper changer and dish washer others. and an artist in those brief 'other' hours. hard to keep it all straight sometimes but such a delight for my soul to be involved in so many endeavors and environments. i've always loved variety. i'm grateful for these places.

wilderness community

we made our pumpkin bread the other day. and the two littles joined me around the flour.



with more and more flour.





sometimes, when i get out of the way, these kids show me what it means to have a good time.

and saturday was full of outside. what a beautiful day! a small friend asked me 'is fall your favorite day?' yes. yes i think it is.





some dear friends went camping and invited us to join in for a day. a 7 year-old birthday party in the wilderness. full of sliding down muddy hills, throwing sand in the lake and getting warm by the fire. perfect.


the lovely birthday girl









and as we sat and ate with kind people all afternoon, i thought about family. how much i miss my own and how God has been so kind to give us such wonderful people around us. He gives afternoons like this where we get to join someone else's family for some hours. we drink coffee, look after one another's little sweet-ones and laugh together. community is such a beautiful thing. i often limit its refreshment to a coffee shop with the closest friend- laughing and crying together over life's triumphs and deep sorrows. but it is not just there. so many encounters bring encouragement. i know my perspective is my own and not all people run towards others- but i walked out of the woods, away from the glowing fire saturday feeling exhausted and so refreshed. feeling closer to good small things. they bring me to Him.







hope your weekends were full of similar reminders, friends. and may our upcoming days belong to Him.