Happy

I felt so happy today. Not because my laundry bin is empty (it's not) or because my house is clean (it isn't).... Not even because it's Friday, even though that definitely helped! Today was just one of those days that I felt the magnitude of the blessing of SIMPLY being ALIVE &  HEALTHY. I'm so busy & life can be relentlessly demanding (at times). Sometimes it's hard & sometimes I get tired. Then I remember how amazing it is that my body is strong enough & healthy enough to do all that I ask it to do each day. What a blessing that I CAN work & pursue an education. I'm strong enough & healthy enough to build a life.

I CAN go to school & work, & pick my children up from school, cook dinner, pack lunches, sort backpack's, soothe hurts, teach & discipline my children, read to them, clean the house, exercise & run, give hugs, bathe & cuddle my Little's, love & be loved EVERYDAY.






I GET to do all of these awesome things. These things that often seem mundane & sometimes even feel heavy are TRULY SUCH A BLESSING TO ME. Total perspective shift. A much needed one. If only I could maintain that perspective more often. I know that I can't maintain that perspective without the Holy Spirit & My heavenly Father's constant reminders.

 

Today was a good day because He tapped me on the shoulder & said, "Hey Jess, YOU ARE SO BLESSED."

 

 this is a beautiful video about Motherhood.

 

 

It's almost this time again....

and this guy is READY! He's our resident gardener. Today- he said & I quote, "I'm spending my allowance on weed killer." Wow! By golly, if that isn't dedication then I  don't know what is. I've got myself one very unique 8 year old boy. Now I just gotta get on the ball learning some organic gardening methods. I'm thinkin' ix-nay on the weed killer.

 

Jordan's Spring Garden will include:

 

Veggies

Lettuce

Beets

Green Beans

Cucumber

Squash

Carrots

Tomatoes

 

Herbs

Dill

Cilantro

Basil

Mint

 

Plus a few wild flowers, zinnias, & morning glory's for good measure. Hope I can keep up with my little mister & his garden.

 

P.S. I'm ordering a few spring books--  Farmer Boy (for Jordan) & Twig (for Chloe). Oh, but you have to read this sweet sweet book too. Such a favorite of ours!! 

Let the Spring fever officially begin.

 

 

Rainy Days

As I was snapping these pictures Jordan said, "Do you mind, I'm trying to eat?" Come on son, you should be used to this by now.

 

 

It was a gray dreary day here in good old West Texas. The kind that inspires a few lit candles & something sweet & warm to eat. At our house, rainy days usually call for hot chocolate with whipped cream & sprinkles + buttered toast soldiers for dipping. It's a long standing tradition. We usually all trudge into the house around 4:00 ish. Tea time! It's nice to take a breather & catch up with my little peeps before we start homework, dinner, baths, packing up lunches, & the likes of all that mayhem.

 

Today was especially nice. Jordan being the busy boy that he is, skidaddled pretty quickly, so that left just Chloe & I. We had a lovely little chat over our steamy cups of warm bevs--frothy decaf coffee (me) & afore mentioned hot cocoa for her.  I thought that she was too dadgum cute not to photograph the entire convo. She is so expressive. She talks with her hands. As you can see. She talked about mean boys & the "consequences" for their behavior. She talked about her friend Karma. But THE highlight of her day was when "the big kids high fived her in the hall".

 

 

 Then she laughed & flashed that show stopper smile of hers. Her smile makes me happy. Simple as that.

 

Silly

Sometimes I edit silly pictures to print out & pack inside my kids lunch boxes. It makes them giggle & that makes me happy! 

Just a few...

 

 

pics from my Instagram on this busy Monday.

As you can see I'm dreaming of lazy summer days.

Happy Monday.

Moi

 

 

 

Hi. My name is Jessica . I'm a 30 something, quickly approaching my 40's. Yikes! Sometimes I think that I'm a bit unconventional but in the end I'm not really. I'm simple. I love my amazing family, home, books, pretty yarn, music, simple dailyness, creating memories. I'm a christian, though I've flittered through a myriad of spiritual journeys & quests only to come full circle, back to my Methodist roots. My faith in my Heavenly Father has definitely carried me through some dark nights & continues to light my path. It's a comfort. I'm the mother of 3 very cool & original people. The fact that God gave me these loves of my life still blows me over with gratitude. Being a mama is the BEST thing that I've ever done. Hands down, THE BEST! I dreamt of being a mother every since I was just a little pig-tailed girl, playing with my cabbage patch dolls.I spent hours alone in my room taking care of my babies & playing "house". It was my favorite thing to do. It still is. Motherhood is even more fulfilling & (yes, more challenging at times) than I ever could have dreamed. Leah, Jordan, Chloe & I live in our little yellow cottage, in our little Texas town, with our 2 kitties (Miss Honey & Alfie) + one dog, our scruffy little love bug  (Ginger).

I've recently become a working mama/pre-nursing student. As I'm sure that you can imagine, life has taken on a whole new frantic pace. Despite the constant busy-ness, I felt like I really needed to try to capture it all somehow, I needed to capture the--now, this moment in time. I swear I can hear the tick-tock, tick-tock clock annoyingly ticking away time in my head. It freaks me out.  I'm reminded of both how quickly things change & just how precious those changes are every time that I look at my kiddo's faces growing longer, chins more defined, & legs stretching out lean & long. I don't want to blink for fear that if I blink I'll miss it. Their childhood. I'm determined not to let the beauty of this time, or the magic of their childhoods be lost in the stack of bills, or broken appliances, & final exams. This is where I remember. That's what this blog is about. Remembering the beauty of childhood, of dailyness, of commemerating the changing seasons, & celebrating it all. Celebrating the good days, the slow days, the birthdays. Celebrating life through all it's up & downs. Join me.