Jacks - Poem

JACKS

Shooting across the floor

Snapped from a child's fingers

Flashes of brilliant color

They jump and twirl and dance

Wobbling around in uncertain circles

Whirling and bobbing and hopping

Losing momentum as friction slows them

Then topple over dizzily.

For the Beauty of the Earth

     My parents were discussing the trend of art depicting nudity, and whether it was painted pornographically or simply in appreciation of the beauty of the human form. My parents did not come to an agreement but it started a conversation between my cousin and me about art. She mentioned enjoying looking at the marble engraved horses and wishing she could paint or sculpt something like the human body half as beautifully as artists have through the years. When I was replying to her text, I started to think how much beauty and thought the Master Artist put into the universe, so much diversity and wonder. Every time I stop to think about it, it really takes my breath away, and the fact that God chose me and you and all the rest of this fallen race to enjoy and take care of His creation... I know I never would have! If I had made such a masterpiece, I would put it somewhere out of reach of all my children's grimy fingers and naughtiness so they couldn't ruin it, and yet God gives us grace even when we've made his beautiful world a place of sick perversion! The mind that it would take to create something so intricate and complicated and perfect... and yet it was nothing for God, six days. How can anyone look at the world and not believe He exists? I hope someday to meet the Artist of our universe.

Good Morning Beautiful World

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. ~George Washington Carver

The sun in this picture reminds me of when I was younger, one of my favorite books to look at was  Ideals - Hymns of Faith and Inspiration, and my favorite picture was one like this that went with the song Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus. I really didn't know the tune that well but I'd always try and sing it best I could. :) 

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! ~John Muir

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Author unknown, commonly attributed to Martin Luther

This handsome rooster enjoys heralding the morning bright and early most days. 

After all, I don't see why I am always asking for private, individual, selfish miracles when every year there are miracles like white dogwood. ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~Lao Tzu

Morning bath!

Sidewalk art, oh the innocence of childhood! :)

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural which is infinite, which is yes. ~E.E. Cummings

New Blog Title

I changed the title of my blog. What do you guys think? Was the old title better? You have a better title? Or is the new one satisfactory? 

Take a Deep Breath, Slow Down and Really Live! (Pictures)

The stack of schoolwork I'm supposed to be doing...

...what I'm doing instead...journaling... 

...or goofin off with my favorite little sister! <3

The Kitties all decided this would be a comfy place for a nap! :) KITTY PILE!

Lizzy found a book from the library... a book that she used to love as a kid. It's a pretty funny story :)

Had to go help Sarah with something outside and on the way back, laying in the sand of the drive way was this single, gorgeous maple leaf. It reminded me once again to slow down and savor the little moments in life!
Thank you God for beauty! :)

An Inquisitive Mind

     I'm sitting Indian-style on the couch, Coffee in one hand, trying to get some school work done before everyone's up and making noise.
     John is sitting across from me in dad's comfy arm chair, wrapped up in a big blue afghan, jabbering about - I don't know what! Asking me questions I'm only half listening to,
     "Sometimes I wonder, why do flies buzz?"
     "Butterflies? They don't buzz." I look at him puzzled.
     "No, flies. Why do flies buzz."
     "Oh, you know, I don't really know the answer to that." I admit, not knowing fully enough myself why to explain it to him.

     "Hmm." He seems lost in thought. Ruthie comes and snuggles under his warm afghan with him and they jabber and laugh, flies forgotten, but I'm left thinking.

     I'm not really a particularly inquisitive person, too often if I don't know something, I just leave it. I always wanted to be just like the adults I knew, especially mom, she knew everything about everything. She could answer any question I asked her. I wanted to know everything when I grew up, just like she did.
     Of course I've grown up enough to realize that she doesn't have the answers to all of my questions or the questions of the universe, no one really does, but I still think she's a smart person and I admire her knowledge. Not knowing the exact answer to John's question made me ponder on how if we want to learn, we have to have an open mind, be willing to ask questions, willing to admit that we don't 'know it all', willing to take in the information.
     I wonder how much we would learn if we never grew out of asking the million and one questions that children ask about the way the world works and the matters in the world that effect us and people and life. If we could somehow always remember that we will never know enough, and keep that hunger for learning alive, how much could we learn?

Afternoon Coffee With a Favorite Sister

     Life getting a little too stressful? Just wanting to get out of the house? Need some sister time... You'll probably find us at Cantabaria! Like this afternoon...

Our favorite haunt

Our corner table

My dear sis with her Snicker Frappe... one of her favorites I think . :) 

I've been trying a new coffee smoothie each time I go, this time it was a toss up between a  White Chocolate one and a Toasted Coconut... I got the White chocolate and it was yummy! :) My favorite has to be the Coffee Toffee I think :)

Thanks Rachael for the time out of your day, sharing hearts over coffee creates some of the best memories! My sisters are such a blessing! Thank you God! <3 

He Knows the Answer to EVERY Question I ask

     I was sprawled on my bed reading a textbook on Anthropology this afternoon when the thought occurred to me, we as humans, with only so much capacity for knowledge and etc., have a million questions about the universe and every function in it. We will always have questions no matter how many answers we find, because with every answer comes a dozen new questions, the part of this that awes me is that there is a God up in Heaven who could answer every questions that humans are asking, have asked and ever will ask, a God who knows EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING in the universe, a God who created it all from nothing. That realization takes my breath away.

     Jesus often answered questions with questions. Think about it, sometimes in the question there is more answer than in any answer a person could give you. Having to think it through yourself. No wonder He taught in this way. 

The Boyfriend, The Babies and Old Family Friends (pics)

Well I had a great weekend. It definitely didn't last long enough, that's for sure! I got to see the nephews and nieces and really bond with them and also I got to spend part of Saturday with my boyfriend in Grand Rapids.

     Saturday morning, my alarm rang at 6:15 AM and I switched it off, knowing I needed to get up and shower before we left but also that I had over an hour and a half. Friday night I'd talked dad into letting me ride along with Mom and Rachael to Grand rapids to see my boyfriend who is attending Itasca Community College (ICC). Before 6:30 I groggily crawled out of bed and gathered the things I'd set out the night before, knowing I wouldn't be in a mood to pick an outfit, then headed downstairs for a shower.

     There was a knock on the bathroom door and I let Rachael in, fully dressed and putting makeup on I looked at her in the mirror, "What time is it?"

     "8:00."

     "No!"

     "Sorry 7:12 or something."

     "I knew I hadn't taken almost two hours in here!" we laugh. I make some coffee to bring with me, can't skip that, especially not when I'm awake so early. Only slept four hours since I was up until almost 2:00 AM trying to arrange today with my boyfriend Cjay.

     Finally we say our goodbyes to the few people up and head out to the car it's a little past 8:00 we're on schedule. The drive is quiet, Rachael sleeps in the front seat, I sit in the back, journaling most of the way to Deer River where we drop Rachael off at her friend Given Hoffman's. Mom was going to say hi to Given's mom, a friend she went to school with, but the house still looks quiet so I move to the front seat and we start for ICC. I finish the chapter I was in the middle of, in the Hunger Games and then put it away and jabber at mom.

      We arrive on campus around 9:50, about 15 minutes early and wait, first in the front parking lot then the back, wondering which he meant. Finally mom points out a figure coming around the corner,

     "That Cjay?"

     "Yep, that's him!" I smile. We get out and walk over to meet him, sitting at the picnic table in front of the dorms, "This is my mom, mom, this is Cjay," obviously, but I felt like I needed to introduce them. They shake hands. Both are a little nervous, especially Cjay, but they make small talk for a few minutes, them mom asks what our plans are for the day.

     "I don't know, we'll probably walk into Walmart." Cjay says.

     "Do you want a ride in?" Mom asks.

     "Yeah." He agrees, I look at him, I thought he wanted to walk. "Saves us a bunch of time and walking." he answers my questioning look.

     "True." Mom drops us off a couple blocks from the mall in town and we walk there. It's a small mall with not very many options, the stores are all name brand type stores and expensive. We window shop a little then start on our way to Walmart, we stop at Burger King on the way, I've been craving a Mocha Frappe and Cjay gets fries. I order then join him at the booth in a corner he's occupied. We sit for a few minutes talking before our number is finally called,

     "That's you." he tells me, I grin at him,

     "That's you." I already told him I was going to let him get our order. I slide the receipt with #87 on it across the table to him and he gets up,

     "Ahh whatever." What a gentleman. After Burger King we continue on to Walmart, the time is slipping away quickly, mom's gonna pick us up at Walmart at 3:00. I'd been hoping for a little longer, but hey they let me come I'm not gonna push it this time. It's probably close to 1:00 by the time we make it to Walmart, after shopping for a little while, we sit outside. Both of us stayed up late and both of us are tired. We lay down right outside of Walmart, behind a stone bench and talk,

     "You ever take a nap outside of Walmart before?" he asks me. I laugh,

     "No!"

     "Do you think you ever will again?"

     "Depends on how much time I spend with you at Walmart." he laughs now too.

     Mom's late, it's 3:30, she apologizes as we get in, not like either of us care. We drop Cjay off at his dorms again and mom and I head for Nate and Aimee's, mom's already been there while I was with Cjay, but we'll spend the night and Sunday we get to see Traci and the kids.

     I again jabber most of the 30 minute drive to Nate and Aimee's out past Nashwauk. Bristol and Weston are a bit shy at first, Weston warms up faster than Bristol who has a bit of a reserve to her, she takes her time getting to know people but isn't exactly quiet once you do know her. We play outside for most of the evening, until around 7:00 we go into Nashwauk for pizza. Then Mom and I take the kiddos home and Nate and Aimee go out for a date.

     We play ball and color in the notebooks mom brought for them, I journal and mom makes hot cocoa for us two while Bristol and Weston eat Graham crackers.

Weston goes to bed by 10:00 but Bristol refuses to get her pajamas on, in her own cute little stubborn insistent way, she doesn't want to go to bed until mommy and daddy get back but mom helps her put them on. She sits next to me on the couch playing with her party favors and jabbering. Finally past 10:00 mom puts her to bed and we go to bed. I don't know when Nate and Aimee got in, I was sound asleep all night, the couch was pretty comfortable.

     I'm wakened by a little hand on my shoulder,

     "Weston." Mom says softly, "She's sleeping." I fall back asleep for another hour, once the rest of the family is up, I go and take a shower. Church is at 10:00. I still feel groggy, Nate's made coffee so while the others eat toast and cold cereal, I drink a cup of coffee.

     I get to play with the kids again for a little while before church, the circle around me, giggling, while I sit on the floor and try to tickle them. We play catch, and Bristol hands me her Barbie cellphone to talk on. I adore these children.

     Church is good. Saying goodbye to Bristol and Weston and Nate and Aimee is sad, knowing we won't see them for awhile again.

     We arrive at Traci's in Keewatin around noon. Right away when we come in she offers us the babies. Davie is a little shy at first but before too long, he warms up. Traci makes us lunch, spaghetti, and Davie and I make cupcakes. "Cake?" he enthuses. We only have three hours before we need to head back to Deer River to Hoffman's for dinner, and we make sure to enjoy it thoroughly.

     At Hoffman's we have a delicious supper and all members of the families who have not yet met in previous meetings, are introduced. After supper, the girls decide to go on a walk, Hope, the oldest, Bree's daughter, who is not quite two, asks Auntie Given if "Blue girl go on walk?" Ruthie (who is wearing a blue dress) is now 'Blue girl'. As we pass the horses, Given asks if I want to ride, since I'm the only one who didn't get to ride yet. I haven't been on a horse in a long time and it's great, but after about three rounds, my thighs are bruised from hitting the saddle repeatedly as I can't quite get into the rhythm of Domingo's gate yet. He's a great horse, well behaved, yet he's got an attitude and he's gonna see what he can get away with. I never really did like the perfectly docile horses. 

     We talk and play Catch Phrase and then it's time to go. Rachael, Lizzy, Sarah and I take the car home while the family takes the van. It's great just to have time with the girls again. I honestly miss them when we're apart. 

     And so my wonderful weekend has come to a close. Today, Monday, Labor Day, is kinda acting as a buffer, getting us all back into the swing of life, tomorrow we start school. I'm looking forwards to that. Tonight, my friend Cherish is coming to spend some time catching up, we've become disconnected over the summer, so that should be great, and maybe Aaron and Carrie, I miss them. :) Wednesday Lizzy and I clean and I'm sure the rest of the week will fill up quickly, if not with people and going places, with gardening and school. 

     I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted to but here are some pictures of our time with Bristol and Weston--

Bristol Nicole <3 

Weston David

Watching auntie write in the sand

Bristol kept wiping out what I wrote

Thinking

Princess with an attitude <3

Scribbles in the sand

Playing catch

Catch with Grandma, the dog, Colt kept stealing Weston's ball

Such a pretty smile

Botany lesson

The wonders of creation and an inquisitive mind

Cleaning out the sand box, first the sticks...

...Then the trucks...

...Lining them up...

...Success! On to the next thing.

Little charmer

Uh-oh! Sister stole his hat!

Ha! Grandma got it back!

No! Not again!

She thinks it's a game...

...

...Weston doesn't!...

Okay, he's done chasing no more fun.

Coloring time!

He looks just like Aaron did at this age!

Graham crackers! Mmm!! 

Look at that face! :)

<3 I love you Beautiful! <3

Show off! :)

So there you have it! The darling Bristol and Weston. I didn't get any pictures of the other three sadly, but I had fun with them too!! The five sweetest toddlers in my life! <3