2.11.2013

What is love?

Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more. (I really can't say the above sentence without picturing Will Ferrell bobbing his head back and forth. If you didn't grow up in the 90s and don't know what I'm talking about, then I really can't help you.)
Loulie's class party was at school today. This created a dilemma since in my mind I had it on the calendar for Wednesday, that is until I finally read the class email Saturday night at 11:00 wherein the room mother explained that the class party was moved to Monday due to Ash Wednesday services at the church. Since Loulie originally suggested that we make our own Valentines that are orange with sprinkles (i.e. glitter) that shoot out and then it turns into a sticker, I asked her again Sunday morning what exactly she wanted to give as her valentine. She decided she wanted her "valentime" to be cookies shaped like a heart. Which is how I came to be standing at the counter at 12:15 on a Sunday night icing 50 homemade heart shaped cookies. And as I stirred that giant bowl of diabetic coma inducing sludge, I thought about the insane things we do at the request of our children (and how stupid I am for thinking this would only take 30 minutes).
Like the time my mother stayed up all  night sewing me a dress to wear to my good guy friend's bar mitzvah the next day while also suffering through strep that had moved to her organs. I'm sure that was a real good time--I can barely make it up the stairs at 99.9 degrees, forget full body pain, sore throat and feverish. But finish she did! And did I feel like a young Kelly Kapowski in my fitted velvet shift dress with slightly puffed sleeves (again, if you are not a child of the 90s, I cannot help you with these references).  I danced my tail off that night and held my own with my slightly more developed friends who could actually buy a dress off the rack without having to stuff or take the bust in six inches. No, I felt good in my homemade shift dress, completely clueless to my poor mother who probably launched herself into the bubonic plague finishing the hem. I don't know if I ever properly thanked her but I think it might have gone down like this...
When Loulie got up this morning and walked into the kitchen, her little mouth formed into a perfect O and after a brief pause and slight inhale exclaimed, "Oh mama, those are MAGNIFICENT!"
 
 Love makes us do crazy things people.

P.S. Loulie Bug, if you are 35 and reading through your mama's old blog post, this would be a great time to weigh whether or not you should move me into your carriage house or ship me off to the nursing home. Just saying.

Happy week of love friends!
(and thank you Mom for the countless hours of lost sleep)

2.04.2013

January 2013

my parents' house almost every weekend in January
January is the quietest month in the garden. 
But just because it looks quiet doesn't mean nothing is happening.
- Rosalie Muller Wright

When I was younger, before I had years of memories of winter and time passing quickly, January made me a little down. The build up, excitement and busyness of the holidays being over followed by dreary weather and open schedules would make me antsy and unmotivated. A few years of this feeling gave me anxiety come January 1 of the looming winter blues. I would go overboard planning events and staying active to avoid the inevitable quiet of the short days and long winter nights. But further into adulthood, I relish this quiet time. I've found that I enjoy the holidays for the exhausting celebrations knowing that we will soon turn the calendar page into a time of rest.
And did I ever need January this year. I resolved that I would use the empty space on my calendar to rest, to listen, to prepare for the year ahead. I wouldn't get bent out of shape that there weren't festivals to attend or packed schedules. I would stop. I would take this season for what it is--just a short season in life. Good thing I did since week one of 2013, the whole family came down sick keeping us housebound for days. But it's as if by resolving in my heart to be thankful for this slow time; the Lord poured out blessing. Because though little happened from a "family album, blogging perspective," BIG prayers were answered and so much time was spent just relishing in family. We took time to think about the past year and what we wanted to change in the year ahead. We prayed about the growth of our family, about our health, about our business. I'm not saying that after days of being stuck inside and way more days of wearing rain boots than I would have liked, that I wasn't going a little stir crazy. I just think that the cold, housebound quiet is needed because that's were rest and listening occur which results in growth and development and most importantly answers.
So that's where we are for the beginning of 2013.


January 2013
- Rang in New Year with friends
- Spent a lot of days inside fighting off colds and catching up on Downton Abbey (obsessed!), and coercing Loulie into taking medicine
-Bridget Bojangle's 6th birthday
- Said good-bye to Bert's airplane, an answer to years of prayer to keep or sell
-Loulie's Class Holiday Concert where she performed front and center
- A friend field trip to Charlestowne Landing
- Mr. Rob came to visit from New York
- Good news from our neighborhood school and my first PTA meeting
-Movie dates with Loulie, girls' nights with Aunt Meme, and lots of family time
-Attended our first Journey Together ministry meeting & met so many wonderful families
- Closed one GAL case and picked up another