Multitude Monday #2

Multitude Monday is about intentionally fixing my eyes on God's blessings, big and small, whatever the season, whether life is good or the road has been rocky.

Here is my continuation from last Monday.

11. Good conversations long overdue... It was just good to sit and talk with my husband tonight. One of the things that drew me to Daryl early on was simply being able to talk to him. We needed to do that again tonight and it was good.

12. Thunderstorms I really enjoy hearing the distant rumble of a storm coming. The flashing and crashing of the lightning and thunder bring my children scrambling to my lap. Cuddling with my children adds to the enjoyment of a storm.

13. Cooler temperatures after a storm I think this is the other reason I enjoy thunderstorms... they bring the hope and possibility of a brake in the heat/humidity of the day.

14. Memories brought to life in photos One thing I love doing whether I am at my parents' house, my in-laws' house or my own attic is going through old picture albums. It is fun "discovering" again a picture I had forgotten or catching a glimpse of Daryl's childhood. We give Mom Olson a hard time for taking so many pictures, yet I think we all enjoy looking at them.

15. Clean laundry, especially when I didn't have to do it myself. Daryl is home with the girls on Mondays and he has taken it on himself to do a lot of the laundry. It is so nice to leave the house with a pile of dirty laundry and come home to it being folded and put away. Thanks, honey!

16. Reunions with old friends... facebook has made it possible to reconnect with people I met in Jr. High! It is fun to see where they are and what they are doing.

17. Bedtime... enough said.

Grrrr... cabbage worms

Several weeks ago, I was outside watching the girls play and a beautiful white butterfly came by. I called Hannah over and we watched it flit here and there. Hannah wanted to catch it, but I told her that would damage the butterfly's wings and then it couldn't fly.

Flash forward to today... I wish she would have grab it and smashed it between her little hands. Grrr... I went out into my tiny little garden today to gaze over my little harvest and suddenly I realized my broccoli was looking a little strange and then I looked at my Kale. The leaves were chewed to sticks. Crawling all over my Kale and broccoli plants were green caterpillars, munching happily away on my plants. A quick internet search revealed the name of the greedy caterpillers... cabbage worms. That same site gave me the solution... I got my bucket of soapy water and drowned them one by one.

Somehow, the book, "The Hungry Caterpillar" isn't so cute today.

(I guess this post is kind of ironic after the last one:-( )

Multitude Monday #1

Multitude Monday is about intentionally fixing my eyes on God's blessings, big and small, whatever the season, whether life is good or the road has been rocky.

My cousin at Corn rows and Meadows has started doing this every Monday and I thought it would be a good habit for me to get into as well and so... here it goes in no particular order...

1. Laughter of Little Girls ~ I'm so thankful that I have a house full of this. Hannah's laugh has always been contagious and now I get to hear it from her sister, Grace, AND her baby sister, Elizabeth. There are few things as delightful as hearing all of them laugh together.  

No babies were harmed in the making of this video.

2. My home ~ It is enough. 

3. The library ~ I love going to our public library and getting stacks of books for me and for my girls to read. I can get lost in someone else's life for hours or discover new interests. I love reading picture books to my girls. Hannah, especially, devours them.

4. The last entry leads me to Reading time. One of my favorite times of the day is bedtime, not just because of the quiet that overcomes the house:-), but because it is a time that I can snuggle with my girls and share my love of reading. I'm enjoying discovering the Little House series all over again with Hannah. 

5. My husband ~ He works so hard to provide for us and yet when he is home, he jumps right into the rhythm of the house, playing with the girls, helping with chores, fixing dinner, or whatever else needs to be done. He is a good listener and very supportive of me and my work both at home and at church. 

6. Anchor Leadership Team ~ This is a great group of people who have invested in the lives of the kids of this community. We laugh, we pray, we eat, we fellowship. Does ministry get any better than that? 

7. Sleep ~ I love a good night's sleep and I am SO THANKFUL that my baby does too. 

8. The Ocean ~ There is something really calming about sitting by the sea and just listening to the surf against the sand. It is amazing that I can do that by just walking down the hill from my house. 

9. My pastor and his wife ~ Our family has been so blessed by this couple. They are compassionate, wise, and a lot of fun to be around.

10. Water ~ I LOVE a tall glass of water. There is nothing that quenches my thirst like water. I think I'll go get a glass now.

Porch Garden

I'm trying a new hobby this summer... porch gardening. Several of our friends have joined a backyard growers association and planted gardens in raised beds (this is recommended in this area because of the high lead content in the soil from all the old homes). We have NO backyard, but my wonderful husband was inspired to build several planter boxes and into them we planted our garden. It is our first year and we are learning about what plants grow best where on the porch, BUT we are very excited about our little harvest. I'm not sure who is more excited... me or the kids:-).

Argula spouting earlier this summer

Spinach sprouting earlier this summer

Broccoli and Kale seedings ("cheated" a bit on this one)

Lettuce and Kale seedings (already we have been eating the lettuce in our sandwiches)

Carrots sprouting

Baby carrot "thinned" from the bed

Sugar Peas (this was not a great location for the peas, but we are still getting some)

Sugar Peas!

Visit with Grandma, Aunt Loree, and Aunty Pam

Over the July 4th weekend, we were blessed with a visit from family. We had a great time. The weather wasn't too hot. I wasn't so good about getting many pictures. I'll have to beg some from grandma! Our activities for the weekend included...

• Long walk around Gloucester
• Trip to Essex Bird Shop (to show owners a tick* and purchase a window bird feeder)
• Trip to Animal Hospital (confirm deer tick)
• CVS Minute Clinic (to receive antibiotics for deer tick bite)
• Salem (to play at the park and to wander around the historic sites)
• Church
• Horribles Parade (Grace was PETRIFIED of the sirens, so she and I watched the parade from our window)
• Fireworks on our back deck
• Walk around Rockport
• Road trip to Maine (to add 2 more states to the cross-country trip)

Yes, we were tired, but it was great to have everyone here.


*Aunt Loree's friend Pam (from Hawaii!) picked up a deer tick somewhere between North Carolina and here:-(. This added to our adventures and we hope she has no lingering effects.

Recent Pictures

Running out of room in the Pack and Play!

Playdate picnic on the kitchen floor

 The last couple of weeks, Elizabeth has started getting up on her side. She didn't quite make the "rolling over" milestone by her 4 month check-up, but this past Tuesday, while at the beach, she decided to roll over for the first time! (Mommy missed it, while chasing the older girls. Our friends were the first to see her roll.) She has done it several times this week, including during this afternoon's naptime. I heard her fussing a bit, but by the time I got to her, she was sound asleep... on her stomach!

Getting close... up on her side

Twisted around... almost over. (Check out those blue eyes!)

Victory!

Sweet sleeping baby

Baby Giggles