The big lately.

Hello friends! How are you?  I suppose you probably read the title and thought I had something big and exciting to share.  Well, I don't.  And isn't that BIG and exciting, that things are running along just fine and everybody is healthy in our family?  That's excitement enough to me! 

Last night I was giving some thought to Betsy Grace's birthday and Thanksgiving and Christmas and Brett's birthday and thought "it just CAN'T be time for all that celebratory goodness NOW can it?"  But I suppose summer is long gone with a hop, skip, and a jump.  Fall's just about on it's way out too.  I'm thankful times a million that I've taken time to use "the big camera" (Nikon D7000 in manual mode) to capture our lately.  

It makes remembering days like our somewhat spontaneous day trip to the zoo so much easier to remember.  A week or so ago I was about at the end of my weariness rope.  We were supposed to take a bit of a family trip together in October but one weekend turned into another one and another one…and so on.  Work and other commitments happened instead out of necessity and I was wondering how I'd make it 'till Christmas to have quality time together as a family.  Then Brett surprised me! He called me on his way home and said he'd taken the next day off.
I *may* have been a bit (ok, a lot) excited.  Happy tears sprung into my eyes and we ended up having the best three day weekend ever.  We took the girls to the Tulsa Zoo.  We hadn't been since Betsy Grace was a teeny-tiny six-month old, desperately trying to gain weight from a formula bottle.  So needless to say, this trip was much more joy-filled and happy and fun. 

It was so much fun to have two little pairs of legs running free from this to that.  Both girls walking! What a treat!  
Betsy Grace was really the funny one to watch because she had no prior remembrance of the zoo.  She was quite taken with the "nonkeys" and spent most of her time looking for them.  

(this picture….I mean really.  That tiny little wonder-filled body.  I could look at it all day)


For right now, a day trip usually works best for our family.  Maybe one night in a hotel.  We had plenty of fun taking the girls to the zoo and eating at Chili's afterwards!  Then back home to our cozy, warm house and our own beds! 



Maybe it's because we've been inside a bit more lately but something in my head has been urging me to snap a picture and appreciate a moment when I see it.  I am such a visual person….perhaps this is my way (partially) of worshipping my Father.  Of showing that in the midst of the responsibility of caring for my family and this current stage of life….I so appreciate and place value on the job that's set before me.  


I delight in seeing everyday moments with my sweeties captured…..in remembering their fast, running feet…..Sunday shoes and all! 



Such silliness at this age!  Anna Ruth says things like "gore" instead of girl and "aminal" instead of animal.  Sometimes Brett and I look at each other and say "What ever will we do when she says those words correctly?" We hope both girls always keep a HUGE imagination, an enormous joy tank, BIG eyes to see the goodness of God.
 I have to admit, I really love treating the girls.  We try to do that with food in moderation. I want them growing up to absolutely know how to be healthy but to adore a good treat as well.  Both matter I think.  I suppose you can tell on your own how much our girls like treats :).
 One of my goals for the winter is to make sure we get outside some!  Now that we don't have tiny babies it is much easier and reasonable to do that. Both girls got pink snowsuits/coveralls so that they can properly suit up this winter.  We made it outside with the temperature in the teens and snow on the ground and both girls were warm enough for at least 20 minutes.  Success! 

I was proud of myself for this because it is no easy or short task getting two toddlers dressed for the chilly outdoors!  I was doubly proud for having a warm fire waiting inside to warm up by, that I built all by myself! I just may turn out to be a country girl yet.
 I went on a bit of a scavenger hunt around the house today to quickly snap what most of my days look like.  Oh sure, it doesn't seem like anything special sometimes right now.  But sometimes I find my memory drifting to what the days were like with just Anna….and then with Betsy Grace as a tiny baby and I find that for some unknown reason I just ache to remember details.  I long to remember the daily routines of those seasons, most of them at least.  There's a sacredness in this schedule of life.  
 Most of the time, I don't even know it at the time.  I can think back to my time in college, and then the first five years of my teaching career…and so on with getting married and having a family.  Each season serving such a purpose, revealing God in different ways each time.  Lessons to be learned, confidence to be instilled, joy to be discovered, passions and hobbies to delight….
 Most of my days right now are very disciplined and full and busy.  Cooking three meals a day, doing laundry for four people, cleaning house, getting the girls to preschool, exercising, doing lots and lots of dishes, organizing the house, making art with the girls, teaching and playing with the girls, building fires, working on a healthy marriage with Brett, building community with other believers, learning to love Jesus and know Him even more than already….
that is the heartbeat of my days.  

 Here's a funny story for you that will help you see what real life is really like at the home of The Rosy Life! See that pretty collage on the easel?  One night I was prepping the second activity for the girls of the evening to try to keep from putting Curious George on during dinner prep again.  Tricks on me.  While I was laying out the supplies the girls would need (while really needing to start on dinner) I noticed they went upstairs to play.  When I went and checked….I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The ornery little girls snuck into Anna Ruth's bathroom, climbed onto the step stool, jammed the sink with toilet paper and anything else you could imagine and let the water run 'till it was overflowing.  As in, flowing into the cabinet underneath and onto the floor. LOTS of water.   

OH, so add to my list of every day duties right now….discipline. :)
A real life look at real life me, after going a couple of miles on the treadmill. I have to be fit enough to keep up with my two smart, ornery toddlers! :)

And of course, in the in-between moments like nap times or bedtimes or early morning times…I make art.  And plan Christmas and birthday party decor in my mind…..because that's who I am too.  It's as much a part of me as my own heartbeat. 

I added this new art print to the shop today!  All art prints are 8x10's and shipped in a clear, cellophane sleeve and tucked inside a sturdy cardboard mailer. 


Thank-you for letting me share my home, sweet Rosy home, with you.

2 comments:

  1. Always beware quiet toddlers!!! It looks like your days are filled with love and laughter and cosyness which is just as it should be! I love your description of their being sacredness in the schedule, I think that's a lovely reminder for the days when the mundane seems overwhelming :)

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  2. Your days sound a lot like how we spend our time.....but I have a tween and teen:)
    Being at home for most of our days is the best place for us in this season. I imagine you feel the same way. I know I will never regret the hours of preparing meals, cleaning, serving, doing laundry, creating and so much more with and for my family. I believe that this is our most sacred mission field.....being a mom and wife.
    I do love your new print so very much.....it is so cheerful. I may just head over to your shop right now:)
    xo

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