Gardening - Asparagus Success!

We planted our asparagus early.  We dug holes in our red, clay soil, mixed in some black soil for good measure and watered faithfully.  After a month of nothing happening we decided that we would rather use that space in our tiny garden for our tomato plants so we transplanted out tomatoes from their starter pots in the house and put them in the section where we had just dug up the dud asparagus and we put the asparagus into the started pots and put them in our front window.

The general plan was to water the asparagus if we thought about it but otherwise to not waste anymore time or thought about the dead asparagus crowns.  We placed a spray bottle next to the plants and let the kids squirt (or sometimes drown) the poor little plants as they wanted to.

What to do with laundry...

This morning I was making my bed and thinking about the dishes I needed to get done and then I noticed the laundry pile in the corner of our room and remembered that I forgot to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer last evening. Ahhh! Ever have a morning like this? I started my day feeling overwhelmed before 8am, that is a little depressing.  Unfortunately, I think I start the majority of my days this way.  Beginning my days in such a stress filled state is just asking for disaster. I am snippy with my husband, impatient with my son, and just frustrated in general. What can I do about this?

Late Again

Late like always. I did not plan to talk about procrastination today. I had a great post started, but that's all it was. Started. Instead of completing it and scheduling it to automatically post this morning, I waited, thinking I would get time today to finish it properly. Oh, my. Will I ever learn that waiting is never the best policy? Waiting until tomorrow to complete a task simply means that it will be finished in a hurried, haphazard way, if it gets finished at all. 

Just a Little Pride

Our guest blogger today is our brother-in-law, Jim. He is married to our oldest sister, Hannah. They have three sweet boys.


I would like to talk about Pride. Not in the biblical sense, as in Proverbs 11:2, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom."

No, this is a different kind of pride. Let's call it the healthy kind. Like, when I grill four steaks and three of them actually turn out edible. Or, when I am successful in convincing my four year old that there is no actual Holiday called "Pantless Tuesday."

Of these healthy types of pride, my favorite is the pride I have in my wife, Hannah. This pride does not come from a selfish or arrogant place. Am I happy that she is beautiful and the girl of my dreams? Sure. To say I'm proud of those things would suggest I had something to do with it. Taking credit, if you will.

My pride is in her successes. The drive, determination and heart she puts into everything she touches. After eight years of marriage, I can be around her for ten minutes and wish I was a better man. On top of that, she has blessed me with three beautiful, smart, healthy and sweet little boys.

What a Girl Wants

It is funny to think back to what I wanted in high school and compare that to what I want now as a woman.

I wanted to be living in Europe with a career in something international, business suit required.  I did not want to be married and most definitely did not want children.  I wanted to be able to travel on a whim and see and experience whatever culture I found myself in.  I wanted independence and importance.

That is not what I want now...

When in Louisville.

If you were to come to Louisville I'd suggest a few places to try out.  For a good cup of coffee Sunergos  is the place for you.  They roast all of their own coffee beans and the result is always a smooth satisfying taste.

If you are into doughnuts then you can just walk next door to Nords bakery .  There apple fritters are basically to die for.  

Letter Love

Recently, I've been thinking about Christmas card season. I love writing Christmas cards. I love addressing all the envelopes, affixing the stamps and sealing stickers, and writing the personal note most of all. The last few years we have been sending picture cards so that family and friends can see how much our boys have grown. The only problem with this type of card is that it's not very personal (besides the family picture, of course). So I try to send a personal note along with most of the cards. It's so much fun!

I love to receive hand-written notes from people at all times, and I love to send them just as much. I don't know why. I guess it's just a quirky passion God has given me. It's too bad that "snail mail" is a dying practice. It does take more time, especially if I'm trying to write a card with little ones around. For some reason, when Mama is writing someone, they suddenly have an urge to magnetize to me- pulling my arm, reaching for my paper. These two blessings have certainly instigated a decrease in letter-writing output from me. But, that's to be expected. Anyway, I digress. My heart really smiles when I have a completed note (thinking of you, birthday, anniversary, etc) dropped into the mailbox. It's such a small thing, but it is an offering of love to write them, and I imagine it brings the receiver a small amount of joy as well. What could be a sweeter, simpler surprise than a note from a dear one amongst the junk mail and bills? I love to picture the smile they may wear as they open and read the note. I know, I'm a little odd with this passion of mine.

Remembering Mother's Day

Lizzi: We just celebrated Mother's Day this past Sunday.
How many years have you celebrated it, as a mother?

Maude: 4 years

Esther:  2 or 3.  Three years if you count being pregnant.

Lizzi: And mine is 3!

Maude: I didn't do anything when I was pregnant - I figured I would celebrate as my last Mother's Day not being a mother instead! Because I will never not be a mother again!

Lizzi: That's a good idea!

Esther:  Haha! So true!

Maude: I like to celebrate all sorts of things! Anything I can, really!

Lizzi: I have recently heard friends say that what they'd like for Mother's Day is to have hubby take the kids and get to spend the day alone. (Relaxing with a book, maybe a day at the spa, etc)
Do you agree? What is your idea of a great Mother's Day gift?

The Most Important Job

"The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world."

My sisters have both written on motherhood this week - I guess their minds are focused on it from the celebration of Mother's Day last weekend but that isn't what I mean to write about.  Not exclusively, anyway.

Of course, as the above quote implies, it is about those people who are raising up children.  Those people who are impacting the next generation each hour, each day of their lives.  I want to celebrate mothers but also fathers, grandparents, babysitters, whoever is pouring themselves into children on a daily, usually hourly, basis.  Whoever the primary caregivers are.

I know of kids being raised by gransparents, aunts and uncles, or foster parents.  I know of a particular young single woman who has become a foster parent en lieu of the as-yet-future family she wants for herself.  She is taking the opportunity to give love and care to someone else's child for whom she holds no responsibility - what a blessing she is being to that child.

I am convinced that these people have the most important job on earth.

The mission field of Motherhood

I have been thinking about Mothers recently.  My Mother, being a Mother, friends who are Mothers, the Mother down the street I have been wanting to talk to because I see her son running, screaming, and being a little extra mischievous like my own and I think, I want to know her .  How do you start that conversation exactly? "I see your kid is as crazy as mine, let's be friends!" that may not go over super well...

I don't know about you but I like to see Mom's with crazy kids too! "You mean your kid does that too?!" It puts my heart at ease knowing other Mothers are probably making the same dumb decisions I am.  Us gals need each other.  Whether it be a fellow Mom, your own Mom, or an understanding kid less friend.  Motherhood should not be done alone.

Climbing the Mommy Ladder

I am a mommy. I have been for over three years now. My mommy has been a mommy for 38 1/2 years. (I'm not 38. Just to clarify in case you were wondering.) Wow! When I put it in those terms it really highlights the difference in our amount of experience. If motherhood required an application and hiring process, my mom's resume would be at the top of the pile. Or, maybe she would be the one doing the hiring since she would know what would make a stellar candidate. She would certainly be at the senior management level, helping to train and establish a new generation of mothers.

In fact, that's just what she's doing. I live faraway, so I can't "drop by," but I call her repeatedly with questions upon questions, and I fill her in on silly happenings that only Gramma could care about. Mom will answer potty training and sleeping questions, brainstorm about eating issues, and share creative learning activities from her plethora of knowledge. Actually, I'm not really sure why I'm writing this blog instead of her! She could put hundreds of "new recruits" at ease with her warm and easy manner, wise and patient advice. Hmmm... that's a thought.

Sisters Chat about the Institution of Marriage

Maude: In light of the marriage amendment that just passed in NC, I wanted to talk about the institution of marriage.
Esther: good idea
Maude: Clearly, marriages are falling apart all over the place. Why do you think that is? What is causing that to happen do you think?
Lizzi: I think people don't know what it's supposed to be about. They have faulty perceptions of fairytale love and don't see the necessity of commitment and self-sacrifice.
Esther: I think a lot of it boils down to selfishness. Marriage is work, is sacrifice, but putting the other's needs before your own - that is not easy.
Maude: I think it is selfishness. I think people are increasingly self-centered and don't know how to put others first.
Haha!
We are reading each other's minds, Es!
Esther:  Great minds think alike.
Maude: I read an article recently that said a scientific study had proven that selfish behaviours and attitudes increase before divorces occur. I thought, "You need a scientfic study to show that?!"
Esther: It is really easy to love someone who is loving you. But, when they're mean and not being lovely we want to kick them to the curb. No one is perfect but is much easier to shrug off my own selfishness then to forgive my husband's selfishness.
Lizzi: So true. We only feel content when we are getting what we want and when times get tough and people act human, we want to stand up for our "rights" and give up.

The Difference Between Boys and Girls

Okay, I am not going to talk about the obvious difference here!!  I just mean the differences any mother of both sexes can tell you.  It is fascinating.

The other day I was vaccuuming after we had finished working on a creative project and there were some sticky foam circles under the table.  I asked Maeva to come over and pick "some things up for me"  she picked up the circles as well as a chunk of cookie that she found on the floor and threw it away.   If I had asked Milton to pick them up he would have either picked up every miniscule little crumb in an effort to be helpful or would have wanted more precise instructions of what I wanted.

One of those days

I should have written this post days ago.  Now I sit and stare at a blank page.  What to write?  What to say? I think something witty would be good, something sad would be better, and then of course there is my favorite topic: FOOD.  But, I do not have anything witty to say today, perhaps something sad, and as to food? Well, I would love to get a moment to sit down and eat at some point today.  May I be honest with you?  I am overwhelmed.  I was thinking I need to write about "something positive" but I am positively not there.  I do not think it is wrong to acknowledge hardship, it is not wrong to see the mess in life.  The question is: How do you deal with the mess?  I don't know about you, but I am full of mess.  I have been struggling with that question all morning.  I know what I want the answer to be, but I am not sure if that is the real answer of my heart.

But a Breath

While I draw this fleeting breath, when my eyes shall close in death

When I rise to worlds unknown, and behold Thee on Thy throne

Rock of Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee
(Rock of Ages, Augustus Toplady, Thomas Hastings)

Fleeting breath. How often do I think in those terms? Sure, I know each day is numbered, each moment precious, each breath fleeting, but it is not often foremost in my thoughts, causing my words and actions to line up accordingly. I don't know how long I will be on this earth, and yet I don't always appreciate the here-and-now. I don't consistently live with the urgency that I ought. An urgent, heavenward view should be my focus.

News of an unexpected death has the incomparable ability to shake a person into eternal thinking.

Sisters chat about: Habits

 Esther:  Today I thought we'd talk about habits.
 Maude:  Uh oh.
 Esther:  bad habits, good habits, all kinds of habits!
What would you consider your own worst or most annoying habit?
 Maude:  Golly.  This is hard!  I think you shouldhave given us a heads-up about thequestions this week!!
 Lizzi:  I think for me it would be procrastination toward about everything
 Maude:  I think my biggest problem is lack of GOOD habits!
 Lizzi:  Would that be considered a habit?
Procrastination, I mean?
 Esther:  Well, one of mine is never measuring things. When you make bread it is a good idea to know how much flour is going in, ya know?
 Maude:  Like I need to exercise more, take vitamins better, floss more, etc.
I think procrastination could be considered a habit, Lizzi.
 Esther:  I also habitually eat bad when my husband is not around.  Krispy kreme anyone?
 Lizzi:  Yeah, sweets intake is definitely a  bad habit of mine
Especially with my afternoon coffee...

TransAtlantic Differences

When recently staying at a hotel in America it reminded me of something new that I experienced at the Bed & Breakfast I stayed at in Germany a few months back.  It was a recently built B&B and even though I was staying in my room with a girl I didn't know they would only issue us one key (a card key - which is easy to dupicate!) to share.  When we got to the room we found out why.  In order to use any electricity in the room one had to put the card in a slot on the wall which actuated the electricity.  This meant that we couldn't leave lights on when we left the room - makes sense it saves money for the B&B but it meant that my roommate had to sit in the room and wait while her cell phone charged and we had to really coordinate going to and from the room with each other which was a big pain.

That would never have worked in the US - especially for the rates we were paying.  But that difference made me think of some of the other differences between Europe and the US in my experience. 

Does a Mom have time to workout?

We live in a very different world then we once did.  We once lived in a world full of physical labor.  Now we are sitting all the time.  Men used to work the fields, work with their hands.  Women would get down and scrub the floor on their hands and knees and wash the laundry by hand.  People once walked to the places they needed to go, not anymore!  Now we have vehicles, sit at desks all day, just to come home and sit at the dinner table and then move to go sit on the couch.   I am glad we have the modern convinces we do but unfortunately, one of the things that was lost with more technology was the necessity to be active. We now have to work to be active, we now call being active "working out".  I do not know if I am the only one, but working out that is more difficult then I would like it to be.  Not only do I  find the time hard to come by but also the motivation to do it!  It just makes so much more sense to have activity built around your day  like it once was then to isolate "activity" to 3 hr. a week (or whatever it may be for you).  Now don't get me wrong, I do not think there is anything wrong with having a workout routine, going to the gym, or for a run, in fact, I would greatly encourage that! I just know that regularly heading to the gym or going for a run can be hard to keep up with. Especially if you are a Mama.  Do you workout in the evening so your husband can watch the kids? That can cut into family time and when does he get to workout? Do you try to do it in the day? How a Mom of three or more kids goes for a run (or has time to workout at all) is completely beyond my comprehension! (Please, fill me in on how you make this happen!)  Some gyms provide childcare, but what if you can't afford a gym?

How is a Mom supposed to get the opportunity to work out?  Between dirty diapers and laundry it can get to be kind of challenging.

Events Worth Noting

Today is a holiday, even if we don't get out of work or school to celebrate it. Many people don't even observe May Day, simply treating it as any other day of the year. I guess I am really one of those people. However, growing up, we would prepare some kind of gift basket or baked good and then drive around to various friends' houses to leave it on their doorstep, ring the doorbell, and run so that they found the treat, but not us. Some years we would call ahead and drop it by, staying to visit after we surprised our dear one with our goodies. It was a lot of fun and a good lesson for us kids in remembering to treat others with kindness and love. I don't know if you do anything special for May Day, but I also wanted to use this opportunity to bring to light two other events going on this week.

The first is Screen-Free Week, which actually began yesterday and goes until May 6th. Its purpose is to encourage children and families to turn off all electronic screens and spend time together doing other fun activities. If you click on the link above you will see the wide array of organizations participating in Screen-Free Week, and that is because our children (and us, too!) spend a horrendous amount of time watching TV and using other electronic forms of entertainment. (Yes, that does include the computer, and thus, our blog.) The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under age two watch NO television (that's right- zip, nada, zero) and that children over age two (no age specification) watch only 1-2 hours per day.

The second event I wanted to highlight is The National Day of Prayer, taking place on Thursday, May 3rd. This is an annual event in which the focus is lifting our nation up in prayer to God Almighty. If you aren't sure how to get involved, here is a list of ways. Most importantly, use this event as a reminder of the importance to regularly pray for our country and its leaders.