Tuesday Art Time...

Last Tuesday we took a few minutes to complete a still life painting.

The little ones wanted what they were drawing to be a surprise so they stayed in the bedroom while I set up an antique blue jar with an artificial sunflower inside.

We used our new water color paints and new paintbrushes.

I was very proud of the results...

Boo

6 year old

Bo

7 years old

Miss LouLou

4 years old

Little Bitty

2 years old

Treasuring Hunting...

There is an old dump in the woods.

It has brought hours of fun.

I have four little treasure hunters there now...

41.  Treasure hunters on a mission...

42.  Treasures brought home after an expedition yesterday...

43.  Little girls and old broken kittens...

 44.  Big brothers digging...

45.  Old blue bottles...

She's So Funny...

Me:  " Miss LouLou look at your drawer...do not stuff your clothes in your drawer.

Open the drawer take them out and fold them, then put them back in neatly."

Miss LouLou: "Mommy, I'm just a stuffer.  I can't fix them."

Throwing Time Away...

Because we were the ones who have chosen this road less traveled by...having these little ones here...

all day...learning...loving...experiencing life together...

I thought we were somewhat protected from hasty days and hurried lives.

Time slow has always been a priority to me...letting them play...explore...imagine.

But busyness has entered our lives through...me!

I'm always pushing to get this job done...that next thing marked off of my list.

As I sit here in the early morning before little feet begin to run...

I am reading His Word...

 

O Lord, make me know my end

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting I am!

 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Psalms 39:4-5

and this...

"What was the pastor's most profound regret in life?"

"Being in a hurry.  Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me.

I cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry.

But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing...Through all that haste I thought I was making up time.  It turns out I was throwing it away."

I read these passages and the words weigh heavy.

I begin to close my eyes and hear myself.

No, I don't have time to play that game right now...

No, I can't read a story right now...

I'm sorry I am folding clothes...I'll hold you in a minute.

In a minute usually never comes because they find something new to occupy and I am off to the next task.

Moments missed...never to be found again...

How many moments have I been missing?

Orange Smiles...Sticky Chins...and Little Mofs...

This girl woke up from her nap wanting to snuggle.

33.  sleepy snuggles after naptime

She's like that...needing cuddle time throughout the day:-)

After snuggling for a minute...she decides she needs a snack.

Oranges it is...

34.  silly orange smiles through chair rails

35.  sticky chin and little girl grins

After snack she was off to find her new little mop.

"Can I mof (mop) mommy"

38.  Little mops in little hands.

39.  Listening to her singing...amazing gwace...how sweet the sound

What else can she find to do this afternoon?

She's already suggested painting...swinging...now she's out the door to find something get into...

40.  busy little hands

Counting His Tender Mercies...

13.  Watching the brothers hold their sisters hands...helping them through the pasture.

14.  Sitting down for burgers and fries with all of the little ones along.

15.  rainy...cold...weather...drives them in and around the table to learn together

16.  birds visiting the feeder each day...beginning to feel like old friends

17.  puddles in the backyard

18.  a distant bird soaring against the wind

19.  raindrops on the window panes

20.  Little Bitty...tousled hair...waving to me from the bed in the early morning

21.  baby babbles and listening to her try new words

22.  his word piercing my heart in the early morning

23.  a weeks worth of quiet times in the early morning...before the day gets busy

24.  godly women who have traveled this road before...living Titus 2...willing to share

25.  Hello sun...after five days of rain and clouds...this afternoon surprising us with its bright light.
26.  Miss LouLou telling Bo that he colored a pretty viking.
27.  the noise of the cookware...cooking a hearty soup...for the cold day
28.  kneeling by their beds in the dark...listening to them breathe
29.  the fire crackling in the fireplace...flames dancing to keep us warm
30.  reading next to the fire all alone in the quietness of the night
31.  Seeing the bright sun rise this morning.
32.  Little Bitty and Boo sharing a blanket this morning...hugging...giggling

Studying Art On A Cold Day...

Yes, it does get cold here in January.

In fact the Monday before the 68 degree swimsuit day...

It was a 30 degree stay in the house day!

So we used our 1968 childcraft annual and a toilet paper roll to have an art lesson.

We talked about the way an artist looks at a large scene and may choose to focus on a small part of it to paint or draw.

So with our toilet paper roll telescope we looked out the back window and focused on one small part of the beautiful big picture...

The kiddos each focused on something different and drew it in their sketch books.

Boo chose a plow, barn and cow..

Bo chose the old truck in the pasture...

Miss LouLou chose the chicken coop in the backyard...

Mommy helped draw the coop...she put the chicken wire and grass on all by herself.

What To Do On A Warm Winter Day?

I could feel it in the air that morning...

warmth...68 degrees ...
We couldn't pass on this opportunity.
So gathering the swimsuits and water shoes for the girls...
Mud boots for the boys...
A loaf of bread and some peanut butter for a picnic...
We were off to explore our new favorite park.
We have recently found this great little park hidden away from a busy road.
It's only five minutes from the house.
The boys think this is the best park ever!
Because it has....

A creek for wading and exploring...

And a playground for swinging and climbing...

Winter Nature Study...

The boys were off on an adventure in the pasture.

So Miss LouLou asked to do nature study.

We took off on a walk around the yard...exploring

One of the first things we noticed was...
Not just one...

Not two...

Not three...four...or...five

But...SIX...birds nests...

We found one...

in the oak tree at the road

in the hedges near the woods

in the oak tree in the yard

in the blackberry bush along the fence

in the bluebird house

in the magnolia tree

So we collected a couple that we could reach and examined how they were made.

We saw...

pieces of carpet from the carpet in the garden

pine straw

hay

pieces of blue tarp pulled from the fraying edge

and twigs.

We drew a bird's nest in our nature notebooks and taped some of their construction materials beside the picture...

And this Tiny Miss was just along for the ride...

Welcome New Year...

I awoke on the first day of the year feeling...

excited

hopeful

blessed

I told Chris it was exciting to think of a brand new year before me..

a fresh one with no mistakes in it yet.

He told me to just wait, it wouldn't take long.

And it didn't.

But I'm so thankful that ...

"It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed,

because His tender compassions fail not.

They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23

So this year among the mistakes and the messes,

I long to bask in the grace of His new mercies every morning.

So I want to make this year...

the year of counting His tender mercies Every. Day.

1.  little girls giggling...chasing each other with cold hands

2.  Little Bitty shaking the garbage bag out and trying to put it in the can.

3.  Bo's excitement over starting his own quiet time...he told me reading his Bible has helped throughout his day.

4.  Boo telling me how much he wants Jesus in his heart.

5.  Little girls flying high in the swing...hair blowing in the breeze...full of giggles

6.  A week at home with Him...dreaming...looking...loving

7.  Laying on the couch with Him...feeling his heartbeat...breathing him in...feeling his arms around me.

8.  the gray in his beard

9.  Seeing a teenage son put his arms around his mom in a parking lot and giving her a hug.

10.  Listening to Little Bitty sing "There's No God Like Tekola" (Jehovah) on the way home from church.

11. Cruising the back roads with Him looking for a few acres to call our own.

12.  Gathering with family...eating...sharing...laughing...loving