Summer Kitchen

As the weather warms, and my gardens go in, my kitchen evolves. The slow cooker is packed up, and out come all the summer implements - the seed packets, strewn everywhere. The little greenhouses (current count: 3) taking up all of my counter space. The giant compost bowl that really gets a workout. Seed potatoes chitting (yes, that's spelled correctly) on the counter. Under-counter flourescent light doubling as a grow light. Basically, there's not a free inch of space anywhere. And soon, it will get even worse - when the mason jars come out. Summer canning is just around the corner. But the kitchen is the heart of our home, and I love to see it's usefulness (and mine!) bless my family!

Tick Tick Tick

"There is an apopinted time for everything. And there is a time for every event under Heaven." Ecc. 3:1

What is it time for us to do??

Can't shake this feeling! What is in store for us, I wonder?

A Time to Plant

This weekend my parents were in town, and along with my grandpa's help, we all pitched in to build four new raised garden beds in our backyard. This brings our total gardening area to 238 square feet. We filled the beds with a lovely mix of topsoil and mushroom compost, and now we sit back and wait for the weather to turn. Just a few more short weeks, and I will be transplanting all of my little seedlings outside. And, actually, in just a few days I'll be putting in the potatoes. I can't wait to see what grows this year!

I'm planting all heirloom varieties - five varieties of tomatoes, four varieties of peppers, cucumbers, beans (snap and dry), okra, broccoli, peas, brussel sprouts, squash, zucchini, potatoes, ground cherries, herbs, and probably a few others that I'm forgetting. I'm also very hopeful that we will get blueberry bushes put in within the next few weeks. I can't imagine anything sweeter, in the wet cold months of February and March, than a sun-warmed vegetable traveling the short distance between the backyard and our plates, and nourishing my little family.

Unsettled

I have an unsettled feeling. I've felt this way for weeks, maybe even months. Something is upset in the balance of our family, something is stirring in me, but I haven't put my finger on it just yet. Not in a bad way, but in a "change is coming" sort of way. I've been praying diligently that God will reveal the change that's upcoming, in His time, give us the answers. I'm meditating on some things, stewing in them, really; I'm looking forward to whatever season is coming next for us.

In the meantime, here is something I wrote a few days back. I opened a text document, and the words just starting blasting out of me. I've held this thought in for days, this idea of "intentional mothering" - which can apply to all of my roles, really. Intentional wife, intentional Christian, intentional friend. I'm pasting it here; it's not new information, but it's something to fill the page, at least as full as my mind has been lately...

Intentional mothering is a term I read the other day that absolutely struck a chord within me. I have four children, ranging in age from 2 to 8. Days can fly by in a blur – the day begins early and before I know it, I'm tucking children in, and wondering if I poured anything into their lives today. Yes, I spoke with each child. Yes, we spent time together at some point throughout the day. But was any of our interaction meaningful? Did I say anything to them today that enriched their lives? That pointed them towards God? That built character? So often, the answer is no.

I am motivated to become a more intentional mother. As I walk beside my daughter down a shopping aisle, I make a calculated decision to take her hand and talk to her about her day, asking questions about the things she seemed to enjoy most. As I drive in the car, with all four children buckled in behind me, we turn off the music and I repeat a scripture verse to them that's been on my heart, and we talk about how it applies to us. When I come in from the grocery, and I want to push everything into the fridge and go sit down for a half hour, I think about their little feet rushing off the bus this afternoon, into the front door, backpacks hitting the ground in the middle of the living room, and hearing their voices, “I'm hungry!” If I spend that half hour washing and cutting up all the fruit I purchased today, instead of plopping myself down, then they will enjoy that goodness when they come home. Intentionally making choices that put them first, that enrich their lives - I want to give them all that I have to give as their mother.

Years are flying by us like a rushing river. I am painfully aware of their growth as I do their laundry, and my son's jeans are almost as long as my own. They won't always be little babies, always under my care and influence. They are stretching out their necks, like the little seedlings I plant in the spring, unfurling and looking around themselves with a sense of wonder of the world. Don't grow yet, little babies! my heart screams at them. But grow they will, and every moment must be savored. I must make intentional choices to give them the best part of me, to impart what I know. I pray that I give them enough during these formative years, so that when they mature, they still look to their parents for Godly wisdom, but that they seek God first, and that they make intentional choices to show Christ's love to other people.

I want to make every minute count.

Haaaaaaave you met Kyle?

(And if you know what show that's from, you may just be the perfect girl for my brother!)

(This post is part of Show Us Your Life at Kelly's Korner.)

This is Kyle.
Not the one on the left, the goofy one with the umbrella. That's my husband. Cute, I know, but married. Kyle is the one on the right with the sweet water pistol. My little brother is 26 years old. He lives in St. Louis, MO. He is a 6'2, very handsome college graduate from UT in Austin, with a degree in Advertising. He works for a St. Louis television station as a news producer - an Emmy-nominated one, might I add - and he just bought his first home in the St. Louis area, which he shares with his sweet pup, Hamus.


This is Kyle and my dad at a Big Green Egg convention in Tulsa. Our parents live in Tulsa, and the rest of our extended family is in the Northwest Arkansas area. We do manage to see each other fairly often - we're a close-knit family who enjoys spending time together. We love to get together to play games, eat amazing meals, work puzzles, take mini-trips, and basically just laugh ourselves sick. Kyle is absolutely the life of the party - supremely smart and funny. I love every minute we spend together.



This is Kyle with my oldest son, Owen. He is such a great uncle to my four kiddos. He always makes them laugh. He makes sure to send special cards on holidays (even marked with a pawprint from his dog, which the kids LOVE), and gives them amazing gifts. My kids LOVE their uncle Kyle.

Here is Kyle with my four kids this past July 4th. We all met in Tulsa at my parents' house for a fun weekend. You can tell by those faces that they are a handful, but Kyle is wonderful with them.


Kyle is in great shape, and enjoys running. He ran the Jenks Aquarium half marathon this past year, and he's run some smaller races, as well (the picture above is my husband, my dad, and Kyle running a 5K this past July).

Kyle loves the Lord, our family, cooking, music, television, watches, and his dog Hamus. He decided when he was in high school that he would finish college and get settled into a stable career before he got into any serious relationships, so that he would be ready to support and wife and family. He is ready now. If you think you can handle my amazing brother (and the rest of his amazing family), please leave me a comment below. Thanks!

Uncertain

I wish I had finite plans in place for this little part of the interwebs that I call my own, but for now, I'm still on blog hiatus. I so enjoy going back and reading posts about the kids - their birth stories, their milestones, their day-to-day funnies. But right now, my life seems to require living it in real time, with hardly room to breathe, much less blog.

Some day, I'll be back!

Assembly Line

Sometimes when I'm dishing up meals for my babes, I stop and look at all their plates or cups lined up in assembly line-style, and I'm amazed once again that I have four children.