2011 January | From: The Little Pink House

gifts

Jan 312011

50. dinner at the house of new friends.

51. peppery bacon.

52. my farmer’s antique tractor running again with some rebuilt parts.

53. the sun shining through after days of fog.

54. a good night’s sleep after too many nights lying awake.

55. a gentle, patient husband who reminds me of what I need to hear.

56. the way we work together as a team—he has the artistic eye to tell me what looks good, I have the technical brain to put it on the computer screen

57. a little voice so eager to memorize Colossians with mommy and daddy.

58. new books to read.

59. a package of make-up samples and dark chocolate in the mail (from one of you—thank you!).

60. happy stories being told by little people as they wake up for the day.

61. poached eggs.

62. church potlucks.

63. shoes that keep me from slipping on the ice.

64. a husband who babysits so I can go out and get some fresh (cold!) air and sunshine.

65. a new week.

Mommy’s little helpers…

Jan 292011

This was Mary’s favorite thing to do last fall: take all the washcloths and towels out of the bottom drawer in the kitchen. And as you can see, her big sister often helped her out, too.

The problem was, after I’d taken so many pictures, Mary had a hard time understanding that it was something Mommy did not want her to do. She’s finally learned, and only gets washcloths out when she spills something on the floor…or when she feels the need for a few cleaning rags so she can be just like Mommy…or when she needs to put a wet washcloth back in the drawer and get a dry one out…

My girls are learning to be such good helpers. But in the meantime, I feel like sometimes I end up with more messes to clean up than less!

: Caught!

: “See, Mom, I was helping!”

: “Okay, I’ll put them back…”

: Sister loves to help, too…

: If you can call it help.

: Buried in the sand…er, towels!

January

Jan 282011

It’s making plans. It’s writing lists.

Ordering seeds, ordering supplies.

(Ordering a tractor, too. After selling another one, mind you.)

More to-do’s. More plans. Events. Promotions. Brochures.

It’s January on the farm. And it’s enough to overwhelm anyone.

I’m not ready for summer. I’m so not ready for summer.

“But it’s only January,” my husband tells me.

And so I do one thing at a time. I cross one thing off the to-do list and write two more down.

I lay awake nights making plans and rewording promotions.

I’m already tired. And it’s only January.

But before summer comes in all it’s busyness, we have spring to look forward to.

New growth, new life—including the birth of the little one growing within me.

Somewhere in that sweet springtime, I need to slow down enough to see the flowers pushing their way through the dirt.

I need to stop and see and give thanks. And remember the things I love about summer (like sunshine and green grass and barbecues and my clothesline…).

I’ll add that to my to-do list.

Right after “getting through January.”

Written for Lisa-Jo’s 5-minute Friday because, oh look at the time, it’s Friday afternoon and I forgot to post yesterday, let alone this morning—must be time for a 5-minute post in this to-do list somewhere! And for the record, today I really, truly, only spent 5 minutes on my post—but, of course, this addendum was not part of the 5 minutes.

cravings

Jan 262011

October 8, 2010

I’m 10 weeks today. And oh, the crazy foods I’m craving!

Usually, I’m happy to have fried green tomatoes once every year or so. I enjoy them then, but they aren’t something I’d like every week. But I made some again this week? And I’d like some again already, please. A whole plate full.

And I got out the other jar of pepperoncini peppers two days ago. When I mentioned that the fried green tomatoes might possibly be a pregnancy craving, my hubby agreed, pointing out that the peppers, too, had not been out since the last time I was pregnant.

Of course, the things I usually eat like crazy pregnant or not, have changed a bit this time around. Could have something to do with having the flu right after I found out I was pregnant, and right after I’d eaten Mexican food—complete with re-fried beans, enchiladas, and all. Not exactly feeling like making anything related any time soon, thank you.

But Asian food of all varieties still sounds good. Just haven’t taken the time to make it much lately. Not that I’m exhausted or anything… But that could come with having a just-turned-one-year-old, an almost-3-year-old, and a wee one who is just 8 weeks old in utero. Nothing like keeping a mommy busy, waking or sleeping—or eating!!

decorated: the bedroom

Jan 252011

I did finally get the house dusted–a week ago. But of course, I didn’t get photos taken of our new décor then.

I took them this morning, delighting all over again in the fact that our favorite framed items are up around the house for us to see! (But please pardon the dust if you spot any.)

First up, the only room where we have all the pictures hung: our bedroom. (Looking much less sparse than when we were trying to decide on drapes, you’ll notice!)

: Walking into our bedroom…

: a photo of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone we took from Artist’s Point on our honeymoon

: Merritt made our nightstand, based on pictures he saw in a Stickley catalog.

: He made our bed, too. (But no, I did not make the quilt–it was a JC Penney special. Which perfectly matched the pillow on the right that his mom made him years ago!)