March Twenty-Seventeen

March Twenty-Seventeen

For The Future

Planting trees early in spring,  we make a place for birds to sing  in time to come. How do we know?  They are singing here now.  There is no other guarantee  that singing will ever be. 

-Wendell Berry

Will you meet us in the ashes, will you meet us in the ache

and show your face within our sorrow and offer us your word of grace:

that you are life within the dying, that you abide within the dust,

that you are what survives the burning, that you arise to make us new.

And in our aching, you are breathing; and in our weeping, you are here

within your hands that bear the blessing enfolding us within your love. 

-Jan Richardson Circle of Grace

The Moments That Matter 

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments that stand out, the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love. 

-Henry Drummond, The Greatest Thing in the World

Happiness is not a finish line…If we can’t feel content here, today, now, on our journeys amidst the mess and the striving that we all inhabit…then we might never feel it.

–Ben Saunders, Polar Explorer 

 The leap of faith always means loving without expecting to be loved in return, giving without wanting to receive, inviting without hoping to be invited, holding without asking to be held. And every time I make a little leap, I catch a glimpse of the One who runs out to me and invites me into his joy, the joy in which I can find not only myself, but also my brothers and sisters. Thus the disciplines of trust and gratitude reveal the God who searches for me, burning with desire to take away all my resentments and complaints and to let me sit at his side at the heavenly banquet.

-Henri Nouwen Return of the Prodigal Son

We are most alive when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

-Thornton Wilder

Let us all be Noticers today.  Let us notice our children’s gifts rather than their flaws.  

Let us notice what our spouse does right not what he or she did wrong.  

Let us notice the sacrifices our parents made, rather than all the times they messed up.  

Let us notice how hard people are working, not how quickly they are providing service.  

Let us notice where our love and kindness is needed,

rather than spew criticism and scrutiny where it is not needed.  

Let us be Noticers. Love others right where they are. Love others just as they are.

Someone is just waiting for us to notice what’s blooming or wilting inside

that could use a little undivided attention.  

― Rachel Macy Stafford, Hands Free Life

Cherishing every moment until my child leaves home is not possible. After all, there are jobs to do, bills to pay, and deadlines to meet. There are school assignments, extracurricular activities, home duties, and volunteer duties. But there are moments in between life’s obligations when we are in the presence of our loved ones that can be made sacred.

― Rachel Macy Stafford, Hands Free Life

We are God’s idea. We are His….

Look deeply into the face of every human being on earth,

and you will see his likeness.

–Max Lucado

When we take time to notice the simple things in life, we never lack for encouragement. We discover we are surrounded by a limitless hope that’s just wearing everyday clothes.

 -Wendy Moore

We must take up the practice- the privilege and responsibility- of noticing, savoring, reveling, so that, to use Annie Dillard’s phrase, “creation need not play to an empty house.” -– Tish Harrison Warren Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life  

Spring Magic

The world is very old;

But year by year

It groweth new again

When buds appear.

The world is very old,

And sometimes sad;

But when the daisies come

The World is glad.

The World is very old,

But every Spring

It groweth young again;

And fairies sing.

-- Cicely Mary Barker

Flower Fairies of the Spring (1923)

There are moments when our hearts nearly burst within us for the sheer joy of being alive. The first sight of our newborn babies, the warmth of love in another’s eyes, the fresh scent of rain on a hot summer’s ever—moments like these renew in us a deep appreciation for life. –Gwen Ellis

Soccer Dad

There's a lot of hype about soccer moms these days....

but let me just say that we have one stellar soccer dad in our house

and I am so grateful for the way he supports and cheers Taylor on.

9 years ago....

9  years ago, there was a rainy afternoon in March in Nashville when

Anna wore feet pajamas, her bear jacket and frog boots to jump in some puddles.

And Taylor was following in her footsteps with dress up and other fun to be had.

love these windows into life as we knew it with little people as there just are not feet pajamas or bear jackets or frog boots around here anymore....

Spring Magic

Spring Magic

The world is very old;

But year by year

It groweth new again

When buds appear.

The world is very old,

And sometimes sad;

But when the daisies come

The World is glad.

The World is very old,

But every Spring

It groweth young again;

And fairies sing.

-- Cicely Mary Barker

Flower Fairies of the Spring (1923)

While we will never have as many daffodils as my grandmother Hattie 

had behind her house in Murfreesboro, these do bring such joy in our little yard. 

passion for baking

"When people take a bite of your baking, you want to witness closed eyes, a smile, no talking for a second more than it takes to munch, and then that sigh-- in short, the 'bliss factor.' That's how you know you've done your magic."

- Mary Goldman, A Passion for Baking

Emily and Micah-- (a.k.a. -- M &M)

 up to our ears in cookie dough yesterday afternoon for our baking date

where did this little boy go?

these pictures popped up on Facebook as a memory from 6 years ago-
oh my! Where did this little boy go??

"In this modern world where activity is stressed almost to the point of mania, quietness as a childhood need is too often overlooked. Yet a child's need for quietness is the same today as it has always been-- it may be even greater-- for quietness is an essential part of all awareness. In quiet times and sleepy times, a child can dwell in thoughts of his own, and in songs and stories of his own."
-Margaret Wise Brown (author of Goodnight Moon)

ballerina body

Last night, Anna and I got to go to University of WA to hear Misty Copeland speak who was here for her book tour about her new book Ballerina Body.

In the book, she has compiled her best advice for "shaping up without the anxiety of trying to meet a certain body image.  Few people have as much experience with that mental battle as Copeland, 34, the first African American woman to become a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre. She broke the mold of lithe, white ballerinas, though it wasn't easy. It took years to find a combination of exercises, types of food and mental preparation that left her feeling her best self.

'But when I did, not only did I feel fitter, not only was my body sleeker and more powerful, but I also had come to a realization that was more important than any other — I came to understand, to accept, that all along my body had been perfect for me.' " (from a USA Today article)

 We came home and watched a movie with Jason and Taylor after the book talk, and I was not surprised to see Anna looking beautifully poised and putting the rest of us to shame with her flexibility.  Misty Copeland is such an inspiration!!

 “I may not be there yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday." -Misty Copeland  

“I always encourage younger dancers to surround themselves with support, to believe in themselves, to feel comfortable in their own skin and try not to get caught up in society’s standards of what’s acceptable, what’s beautiful. That’s really hard in this day and age.” -Misty Copeland

little red wagon

the gift that keeps on giving..... sure love this little red wagon in the spring!

 

leap of faith

Janie gave us a frame around Christmas time that I brought back and put in the kitchen so I would see it everyday. I've experimented with different pictures there, but this one wins the prize in my book as it is such a classic picture of grace in our family.  I need this reminder each and every day to turn to God (and "to run to Him and not away from Him" as Anna said when she was a wise little 5 1/2 year old when she was drawn to this picture from the Jesus Storybook Bible). 

 “The leap of faith always means loving without expecting to be loved in return, giving without wanting to receive, inviting without hoping to be invited, holding without asking to be held. And every time I make a little leap, I catch a glimpse of the One who runs out to me and invites me into his joy, the joy in which I can find not only myself, but also my brothers and sisters. Thus the disciplines of trust and gratitude reveal the God who searches for me, burning with desire to take away all my resentments and complaints and to let me sit at his side at the heavenly banquet.” -Henri Nouwen Return of the Prodigal Son

Haynes girls

Picture below from the McMenamen's Anderson School that has been changed into a hotel in Bothell.

Good family vibes for sure :)

Hello Spring!

Sunday afternoon pictures from our neighborhood

another mini Kenya reunion

Last night, we drove to Tacoma to see more folks who were on our Global Project trip to Kenya last summer who are here on a spring break mission project. Things had not changed much when we posed for this picture and Taylor's "big sisters" from our trip scooped him up for the photo op.

Vitamin D

So glad we could all (including Poppy) soak up some Vitamin D this afternoon

and sit on the front lawn for our mother/daughter book club.