garden

Stopping to Smell & Remember

/ amylynw / 2 Comments

As busy as it is around here, I always stop to smell the roses.  Every day.  They’re the old-fashioned, smell-divine variety.  Taking in its beauty both in sight and fragrance, I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes, spoken by the One who holds all things together:

Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more than clothing?  [Yes.]  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  [YES!]

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?  [None of us.]

And why are you anxious about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

DSC_0973-001

 

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, o you of little faith?  Therefore… [because you know these things to be true] do not be anxious…

DSC_0966-001

 

Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  

DSC_0944-001

-Matthew 6:25-34, selected

 

Just A Spoonful Of Sugar

/ amylynw / 2 Comments

The other day I was gardening with the short crowd and went inside for one minute.  When I came back, they were covered in mud.  I took a deep inhale of special Stay Cool air (it’s available wherever oxygen is) and let them have some fun.  A few smears later, the boys seemed to smell the mud and came running outside.  Then it became this:

DSC_0247-001
DSC_0259-001
IMG_0928-001
The cold shower they got was in hopes they would not be enticed to do it again for a very long time.  There are only so many mud baths this mama can take.

Have you ever given a pig a pancake?  Well, if you have, then you will recognize that today’s events unfolded a lot like that book.

If you give this mommy a hot cup of tea, I will only be able to sit down a drink half of it before remembering I  must do a load of laundry.   Sticking my warm mug of tea on the window sill until I’m finished, I leave it there, forgotten.  Off I go and clean the carpets, because I’ve been wanting to do that for a few weeks now, and I’m tired of leaving that task unchecked.  An hour later, I finish the job.  Surveying the clean living room, I notice where someone pulled down the curtain and it’s been hanging lopsided for two days.  Instead of just fixing it, I decide to pull down all the curtains and wash them.  Into the washing machine they go, and I turn around to see my mug sitting nice and cold on the window sill.  I grab it and put it into the microwave.  Then I notice how grimy the turntable is from a few spills this week.  I put it in anyway, but take the turntable out and fill up my sink with soapy water.  May as well wash the lunch dishes from three hours ago.  In the middle of that, a herd of small elephants thunders down the stairs to tell me something.  I’m not sure if it’s exciting, tragic or upsetting, so they each get a turn to talk.  I send Elijah up to the attic to photograph the crime scene and bring me some evidence.  My feet hurt, my back hurts, and I’m tired.  The word tea floats in and then out of my head.  Down he comes with the phone, and I talk to my wonderful husband who just happened to call right then.  SO, after hanging up, I take a look at the photographic evidence.  I sigh inwardly.  This is not the first grand scale mess of my week.  After much begging for me to “see it in person”, I trudge upstairs.  I admit there is an “element of cool” to the gigantic spider web, woven across the entire attic.

IMG_0976

Nadine wasn’t convinced by my reaction.  See, guys?  I told you she’d have a fit.  I told her to please notice how calm I was being.  She then perceptively countered, Well, I bet you’re having a fit on the inside!  To this I had to clap my hand over my mouth and laugh.

Back downstairs the wind is blowing through the open windows so the carpets can dry.  It’s not a picturesque day to spring clean.  I had put out a notice to Mary Poppins but she bailed again.  Something about taking too long to get here from another continent.  I had to find my own supercalifragilisticexpealidotious and special bag of tricks.  It’s mostly called, in layman’s terms:  just doing it.  My favorite trick to getting a job done is a reward.  On this cold and rainy day, it is a spoonful of sugar with a cup of hot tea to go with it.

Accidental Gardener

/ amylynw / Leave a comment

Mommy keeps getting up, Mommy never sits do-own, Elsie is singing in her little sing-song voice, as I make pancakes, flip pancakes, and feed ravenous children.  Feels true most days.  That girl is pretty perceptive.  She is also reading whole books.  She is what I call an accidental learner.  Didn’t really try to teach her, but somehow it happened.  All of a sudden she went from cat and dot, to Funny funny Jane went down with her yellow boat… or something like that.

I’m what I like to call an accidental gardener.  I tend to toss seeds in the ground, convince myself I’ll remember what I planted, and promptly forget.  I also re-potted some zucchini… or yellow squash… not sure which.  Guess we’ll find out in a couple of months!  Into the ground they went.  The tee-pee village is planted with beans, or peas, or something that climbs!  I just forget which is where.  I think I’ve mentioned before that I like surprises!

DSC_9163-001

Some surprises I don’t like in particular are those of the check-engine-light variety.  This week we’ve been stuck at home while the van was in the shop.  Then we were given the word we really expected to receive years ago: Your van is not worth fixing.  It just might crumble if they fix the list of things that need attention.  It wasn’t really a surprise, I guess.  It’s like thinking spring will never come, just because it feels like winter will never end.  Yet spring surprises us every year.  So even though it felt like our van would never die, its retirement was guaranteed.  Sixteen years old, almost 240,000 miles… it’s seen the birth of three kids and experienced the growth of five… traveled cross-country, up north, south, and west many times, and in general gets good use.  We couldn’t be more thankful.  We shopped for it when we lived in Honduras, and prayed for no one to buy it when we found it online.  Awesome story of how God provided it.  He obviously had it marked out specially for us.  And He can do that again.

After writing all of the above, life happened!  Not wanting to be known as the mommy who never sits down, today I sat down.  Not mindlessly, and not to give in to the melancholy that was swiftly setting in from anxious thoughts rising to the forefront of my mind.  I sat in the sunshine, red mug in hand, Bible open. IMG_0656

Yes, I had a chattering shadow, but I’m learning how “quiet time” in my heart doesn’t necessarily  mean it’s quiet all around me.  My eyes fell to the page, heart aching to be filled.  Hungry, like it’s been awhile since a good meal.  Colossians 3:15 filled me up: Let the peace of God rule in your hearts…and  be thankful.  A two-fold, sturdy step for my anxious heart to take hold.  First, I had to ask myself:  What else is ruling?  Myself?  Worry?  Anger?  Usually what’s in charge is the first thing that is evident to those around you and to yourself.  I knew peace was not ruling.  It felt a little bit more like uncertainty and a swiftly beating heart was ruling, every time I looked out the window at our sad, sad van.  Saying He will provide, to others, is much easier than telling it to myself.

Let the peace of God rule.  Allow it, invite it to permeate every inch of my heart.  Spread it around like flower seeds and watch it grow.  It will produce more peace every time.

Be thankful.  Oy, that’s a hard one, when all I want to do is complain, compare, and covet.  It’s non-negotiable, though.  As any grammar freak knows, this is not a question, nor a statement, nor an exclamation, but a command.  With all commands, we can choose to obey or not.  The consequences of not obeying result in all the things we fight against: complaining, comparing, and coveting.   Thankfulness brings Christ right into focus, fading out what doesn’t matter.

So, as we step into the unknown, I am reminded: my God is the God-Who-Provides.  He is never accidental in what He does.

DSC_9178-001

DSC_9179-001

Life Unedited

/ amylynw / Leave a comment

Today as I went to make our bed, I turned down the sheets to discover a small baby doll with lots of purple corn chips scattered around her.  She lay quietly in the sheets and I could tell she didn’t want anyone to know about the chips.  I had to choose a smile over a bubbling up annoyance.  I wonder what was going through that little mind while they ate chips in Daddy & Mommy’s bed.  I also wonder what my reaction would have been had I climbed into bed tonight in the dark and felt those things crunch beneath me.  I’d say their pain level upon contact with skin is akin to legos.

Elsie learned how to ride a two-wheeler all by herself this weekend.  One push, and she was off.  Someone generously gave her their old hand-me-down which fits her perfectly, and now she is cruising around the block like she’s always known how.  In a dress, no less.
2013-04-211
She also has her first loose tooth.  She is full of her typical, inquisitive conversation.  Today she chattered with me the entire time I buried 78 bricks around our side garden.  Or it might have been 104.  Or 42.  The number kept changing as she kept count.  I didn’t keep track of her questions and observations because my hands were covered in dirt and couldn’t write anything down, but I know I chuckled a lot.
2013-04-20
Spaghetti and Daddy rhyme when they come out of Betty’s mouth.  Both bring excitement.  Other things make her excited too.  Playing hide-and-seek… which by the way happens in her world whenever she sees anyone.  She will almost always yell, Got you! whenever someone walks into a room.  She is learning the fine art of not always getting what she wants.  I think we all deal with disappointment each day, but Betty likes to show it in full: crocodile tears and all.  Either that, or The Slanted Eyes Look.  Actually, as I type this paragraph (this afternoon) the world is crumbling at the fact she can. not. have. a. banana. right. now.
DSC_8491

Our egg carton seedlings are growing well, and we’ve been making all sorts of fun things outside in the garden.  Once things start to grow, I’ll put some before and after photos!  Stay tuned for June and July garden pictures!   Right now the tulips are blooming.  Some unedited shots of those beauties:
DSC_8969-001

DSC_8964-001
One of our many garden projects includes vertical gardens!  Matthew created some fabulous palette garden beds and they’re in the midst of getting filled with dirt and seeds.  Soon we’ll be making some honeymoon salad: lettuce alone.
DSC_9074-001
Speaking of being alone, that doesn’t happen very often around here.  I even caught myself yelling from the shower today, You don’t need me!  If there isn’t blood, you don’t need me!  Talk to me after I get out of the shower!  No joke, the aforementioned caller hadn’t needed me for the previous hour.  It was only the moment the warm water hit my aching head that the urgency struck them like a bad bladder.  Nope.  Didn’t need me.  I have actual footage I took of Betty sliding things under the bathroom door, saying, Mommy… Mommy… Mommy… while I tried to get five minutes peace.

Matthew also chopped down three trees that were overtaking the electrical wires, and he will be building a shed to house the bikes and mower and outside toys.  The same day our trampoline ripped from side to side.  Twenty-four hours later, our Heavenly Father, who knows just how much our kids live and breathe on our trampoline, replaced it for free tonight!  It’s even bigger and nicer than our old one.  He’s a wonderful Dad, who knows our desires and loves to give us good gifts.
2013-04-21
When the boys were playing hockey last week I ran out on the rink to take pictures.  Elijah said, There’s a fan on the court… She’s a big fan of Matthew Weldon.  You got that right, buddy!  The other night we ate our supper after the kids went to bed, outside in front of the fire-pit.  I am a really big fan of him.
IMG_0537
On Sunday, Jack turned seven!  What a hunk of love.
DSC_9056-001

April 20131

DSC_9075-001
He built the Eiffel Tower all by himself.  All day today he had the perfect tuft of bed head going on, making me smile.  He is a conscientious little guy who likes to pack his own bag, make things straight, and color inside the lines.  He loves hard and deeply.  His heart aches for those who are sick.  He is loyal, seeks justice, and loves gifts.  His metabolism is always burning full steam ahead and he eats more apples and carrots in one day than most people do in one week.  He longs for Heaven.  We love you, Jack!
DSC_9042-001

Yellow Boots

/ amylynw / Leave a comment

The garden has been my sweet spot to be the past few weeks.  I have abandoned my blog for flowers, dirt, and these awesome yellow boots my sister-in-law Heidi got for me at the thrift store.

Along each fence were vines, weeds, and strange unknown plants.  After pulling, weeding, planting, mulching and much watering, the garden has come alive.

With so much technology, I often think that somehow I can record the smell of these amazing lilies.  Bottle it up somehow.  I stop and smell them every time I walk past them, and I wish they stayed all year long.

We have purple and yellow beans, and so far four cherry tomatoes from our garden.  Elijah promptly named our first tomato “Bobby”.  It was yummy.

A lot more than gardening has taken up my time as well.  Kids, preparing for Matt’s race this weekend, lots of dream-hashing and seeking God about the next steps for our family.  We were encouraged when we read this reminder:  The Bible says that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119:105), not a floodlight beaming to our destination.  (Steven Furtick)  So, we take one step at a time, excited, because He is completely trustworthy.